SANA – The UN General Assembly on Friday voted in overwhelming majority in favor of a draft resolution affirming Syria’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan and considering all Israeli occupation procedures in it null and void.

151 states voted in favor of the draft resolution, with the US and the Israeli occupation voting against, and 14 states abstaining.

During the meeting of the General Assembly’s Fourth Committee, Syria’s Permanent Representative at the UN Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari said that the voting of the greater majority in favor of this resolution sends a clear message to Israel that its occupation of the Golan is unacceptable and that it violates the UN Charter and international law, and that it should end its occupation of all occupied Arab lands and cease its violations of human rights and international laws.

Al-Jaafari said that this vote shows that the majority of members states are against the continuation of the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan, and also affirms that Israel’s attempts to annex the Golan are null and void and without any legal effect.

“The people of the occupied Syrian Golan thwarted all the Israeli occupation’s attempts to Judaize Golan, and the most recent example was thwarting the so-called local councils elections on October 30th,” he said.

Syria’s Representative said that the United States’ vote against the resolution isn’t surprising, since Washington is Israel’s partner in its wars and aggression in the region, and has been stealing the Golan’s resources via American companies like Genie Energy, Afek, and AES Corporation that conduct illegal oil exploration in Golan.

He added that the US also practices occupation by having its forces deployed in Syrian territories to protect Daesh (ISIS) terrorists in al-Tanf area and north of Deir Ezzor.

Al-Jaafari said that the US vote against the resolution sends a clear message to the world signaling the end of Washington’s alleged role of sponsoring the peace process in the Middle East.

Syria’s Representative said that the Israeli occupation’s representative failed to understand the legal and political message sent by this majority votes, adding that this representative also used the term “Golan Heights” which is incorrect as the Golan consists of heights, valleys, plains, rivers, springs, and Lake Tiberias, all of which is Syrian territory as the member states acknowledged, and it will all return to Syria whether Israel likes it or not.

He said that when the Israeli representative says that Israel will not withdraw from the Syrian Golan, he should understand that if Israel doesn’t comply with international resolutions and doesn’t return the occupied Golan to Syria, it is opening the door to another option which is war.

“We will reclaim Golan by peace or by war; this is our message to Israel and its ambassador,” al-Jaafari concluded.

Hazem Sabbagh