Syrian flags in Quneitra, near the border with the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, March 26, 2019. (Credit: Louai Bechara/AFP)
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry expressed its "categorical rejection of the Colombian government's decision to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, which remains an integral part of Syrian territory."
The Ministry reaffirmed "the need to respect Syria's sovereignty as well as the integrity and unity of its territory," stressing that "Israel's decision to annex the Golan is contrary to the rules of international law and the provisions of the United Nations Charter, particularly Article 2, Paragraph 4." It also recalled U.N. Security Council Resolution 497 (1981), "which emphasizes the prohibition on acquiring territory by force and considers Israel's decision to annex the Golan as null and void and without any legal effect."
The new Colombian government, which comes from the hard right, recognized Israel's annexation of the Golan on Monday. Until now, the United States was the only country to recognize this annexation. According to the United Nations, the Golan Heights remains Syrian territory under Israeli military occupation.
