Arab League Condemns Netanyahu's Statement on Golan Heights

Israeli PM Netanyahu visits the Golan Heights for special cabinet meeting.

Cairo, Rajab 14 1437/22 April 2016 (MINA) – The Arab League Council has condemned the aggressive statement issued by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Golan Heights and the Israeli government holding of its weekly meeting in the Golan territory.

At an extraordinary meeting held on the Permanent Delegates level, the Council warned against the repeated Israeli attempts to impose the status quo to annex the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, stressing that the step constitutes a flagrant challenge to the international community’s will and UN Security Council resolution 497 which was unanimously issued in 1981 and which clearly considers that Israeli imposition of its laws, authorities and management in the occupied Arab Syrian Golan Heights as null and void and have no legal effect.

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The Council confirmed that such measures constitute a blatant violation of United Nations Resolutions 242 of 1967 and 338 of 1973, in addition to other related resolutions issued by the United Nations General Assembly and the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice issued in 2004 to this effect, SPA was quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting..

The Council requested the Kingdom of Bahrain, the current chair of the Council, and Egypt, Chair of the Arab Summit and the Arab member at the United Nations Security Council to make contacts with the United Nations Secretary-General, President of the Security Council and its member countries to take necessary measures to face these Israeli provocations and violations.

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The Council also condemned the settlement in the occupied Arab Syrian Golan Heights and the so-called the Israeli Golan Regional Council which aims at transferring more Israeli settlers to Golan and the occupied Arab and Palestinian territories, rejecting all measures taken by the Israeli authorities to alter the natural legal and demographic situation in the Golan Heights.

It called on the international community, represented by the Security Council, to take necessary measures that compel Israel to implement the related UN Security Council and the General Assembly resolutions especially Resolution 497 of 1981, in addition to the Human Rights Council resolutions to this effect and to impose the commitment to the implementation of the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949 on citizens of the occupied Golan Heights. (T/R07/R01)

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Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)