Syria's al-Sharaa tells UN Golan is Syrian land, cites Israeli strikes

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, used his address to the United Nations General Assembly to sharply criticise Israel's military presence in southern Syria and to insist that the Golan Heights belongs to Syria.

Al-Sharaa said Israel has launched more than 500 air and artillery strikes on Syrian territory since he took power nearly two years ago. He also said Israeli forces have carried out about 1,200 land incursions and detained close to 300 people.

He condemned Israel's control of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981. In 2019, then-U.S. president Donald Trump recognised Israeli sovereignty over the territory, reversing decades of American policy. The United Nations and most of the international community regard the Golan as occupied Syrian land and do not recognise the annexation.

"No attempts at imposing a fait accompli can undermine the legitimacy of our state, the sovereignty of our law, or the force of international law," al-Sharaa said. "The Golan will remain a Syrian land."

Israel has occupied part of southern Syria since Bashar Assad was removed from power, describing the move as defensive and aimed at preventing potential attacks on Israeli territory.

Al-Sharaa said Syria remains committed to the 1974 agreement that created a demilitarised separation zone between Israeli and Syrian forces, with a UN peacekeeping force stationed there to keep the calm. He called on Israeli forces to pull back to the lines of December 8, 2024 — the day insurgents he led ousted Assad and Israel began sending forces into the area.

Speaking at an Atlantic Council event on Tuesday, al-Sharaa joked that he had asked Trump why he does not give Israel New Jersey instead of the Golan Heights.