Decision on Golan Heights Was Well Coordinated Between US Agencies

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif claimed on Thursday the decision is a reminder to Arab and Muslim countries that US and Israel “will steal your lands”.

Tunisian foreign minister Khemaies Jhinaoui and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit offered similar sentiments over the status of Jerusalem during the meeting.

He did not elaborate, but Arab countries want Washington to retract its decision and stop other countries following suit.

Earlier Wednesday, the Arab summit spokesperson Mahmoud Khemiri told media that U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral decisions on the occupied territories (in Syria and Palestine), including the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, will be addressed at the preparatory meeting of foreign ministers.

Until now, no member of the worldwide community has officially recognized Israeli sovereignty in the area.

Israel seized the Golan in the 1967 Mideast war after Syria had for years used the strategic plateau to shell northern Israel.

Iran’s ballistic missiles pose a threat to regional and worldwide security, according to al-Assaf.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Israeli bombardment hit “ammunition stores belonging to Iranian forces and allied groups, and caused huge explosions”.

The spokesperson affirmed the Arab consensus on the refusal of the US president’s decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights because it violates the UN charter as well as global rights and resolutions, including the UN Security Council Resolution 242 and 497.

Iran has denied posing any such threats.

“We hold Iran fully responsible for what is happening in Yemen”, he said.

Saudi Arabia is leading a Sunni Muslim coalition that intervened in 2015 in Yemen’s war against the Houthis to restore the internationally recognised government ousted from power.

They consider the area as occupied territory belonging to Syria, whose membership of the Arab League was suspended at the start of its almost 8-year civil war.

Assaf said a unified Syrian opposition should emerge before the start of any dialogue with the Syrian government.

President Bashar al-Assad’s government, backed by Russian Federation and Iran, has regained control over most of the country after years of fighting that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Source: Decision on Golan Heights Was Well Coordinated Between US Agencies – State Dept