Saudi Arabia condemns US for recognizing Golan Heights as part of Israel

"Saudi Arabia rejects and strongly condemns the US administration's statement that it recognizes Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights," a statement from Saudi Arabia's state news agency SPA said today, according toAFP.

The announcement came after US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on March 25 recognizing the Golan Heights as belonging to Israel, witnessed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Netanyahu called Trump's signing of the proclamation "historic justice" and "a diplomatic victory".

The Golan remains "occupied Syrian land" and recognizing the plateau as part of Israeli sovereignty "violates the UN Charter and international resolutions," the Saudi statement stressed. "This will have a negative impact on the Middle East peace process as well as security and stability in the region."

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981, a move not recognized by the international community.

The UN Security Council and previous US administrations have always viewed the Golan as occupied territory, with its return to be negotiated as part of a comprehensive peace deal between Israel and Syria.

The permanent members of the Security Council, Britain, France, Russia and China, affirmed that they will continue to consider the Golan Heights as occupied by Israel according to the council's resolutions.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying the Trump administration's recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights was a "clear attack on Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," stressing that Trump had no authority to "recognize this aggression."

Russia has previously warned that US recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights would cause a new wave of tension in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia is an important US ally in the Middle East. Relations between the two countries improved dramatically after Trump took office in 2017.

Unlike his predecessor Barack Obama, Trump has implemented tough policies towards Iran, a country considered by Saudi Arabia to be an "arch enemy".

Trump also did not take a harsh stance when Saudi Arabia was condemned and boycotted by the international community for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the consulate in Istanbul, Türkiye last October.