U.S. isolated at U.N. Security Council
over Golan decision
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[March 28, 2019]
By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United
States was isolated at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday
over President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Israel's sovereignty
over the Golan Heights as the other countries on the council opposed the
move.
In a letter requesting Wednesday's meeting, Syria described the U.S.
decision as a "flagrant violation" of council resolutions, while ally
North Korea issued a statement backing "the struggle of the Syrian
government and people for taking back the occupied Golan Heights."
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war
and annexed it in 1981 in a move the 15-member U.N. Security Council
declared "null and void and without international legal effect."
British U.N. Ambassador Karen Pierce told the council that the U.S.
decision was in contravention of that 1981 resolution, while Russia's
Deputy U.N. Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov said Washington had violated
U.N. resolutions and warned it could fuel instability in the Middle
East.
The European members of the council - France, Britain, Germany, Belgium
and Poland - on Tuesday also raised concerns about "broader consequences
of recognizing illegal annexation and also about the broader regional
consequences."
Trump, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking over his
shoulder during a visit to Washington, on Monday signed a proclamation
officially granting U.S. recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli
territory.
Germany's U.N. Ambassador Christoph Heusgen described the Syrian letter
as "deeply cynical."
"The Syrian government has over the past eight years grossly violated
the international laws of war and is responsible for grave war crimes
and crimes against humanity," he said, referring to the long-running
Syrian civil war.
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President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu hold up a proclamation recognizing Israel's sovereignty
over the Golan Heights as Netanyahu exits the White House from the
West Wing in Washington, U.S. March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Leah
Millis/File Photo
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said earlier on Wednesday that
Washington's decision would help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict by removing uncertainty.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait on
Tuesday criticized the U.S. decision on the Golan Heights and said
the territory was occupied Arab land. Iran echoed the comments.
The Security Council deployed a peacekeeping force in 1974 - known
as the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) - to monitor a
ceasefire between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights. There are
more than 880 U.N. troops on the ground.
U.S. diplomat Rodney Hunter told the council that the U.S. decision
on the Golan Heights does not affect the truce or undermine the
deployment of the peacekeeping mission.
"UNDOF continues to have a vital role to play in preserving
stability between Israel and Syria, most importantly by ensuring
that the Area of Separation is a buffer zone free from any military
presence or activities," he told the council.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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