Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq condemn 'dangerous' Israeli land grab in Syria
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The statements come as Israel continues to escalate its attacks in Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's government.
Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran have denounced Israel's land grab in Syria near the occupied Golan Heights, as the Israeli military continues to launch airstrikes across the country.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Doha considers the Israeli incursion "a dangerous development and an open attack on Syria's sovereignty and unity, as well as a clear violation of international law."
"The policy of imposing a fait accompli followed by Israeli occupation, including its attempts to occupy Syrian territories, will lead the region to more violence and tension," it added.
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Israel began attacking Syria after the country's armed opposition toppled the government of former President Bashar al-Assad early Sunday. Saudi Arabia strongly criticized the Israeli measures on Monday, saying they confirm "its continued violation of the rules of international law and its determination to sabotage Syria's chances of restoring security, stability and territorial integrity."
The kingdom's Foreign Ministry also called on the international community to denounce the Israeli campaign, insisting that the Golan Heights is occupied Arab territory.
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Baghdad echoed those criticisms, saying Israel had committed a "grave violation of international law."
Iraq "underlines the importance of preserving Syria's sovereignty and integrity and calls on the UN Security Council to assume its responsibility and condemn this aggression... and put an end to it," the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Iran also condemned Israel's incursion as a "violation" of the law. "This aggression is a clear violation of the United Nations charter," Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said in a statement released Monday evening.
On Sunday, Israel swiftly intervened and took control of the buffer zone separating the occupied Golan Heights from areas controlled by Syria. The Israeli military also warned Syrians living in five villages near the strategic area to "stay home."
Israel occupied most of the Golan Heights in 1967 and illegally annexed the territory in 1981.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered Israeli forces to seize the buffer zone, established as part of a 1974 ceasefire with Syria, shortly after al-Assad was toppled. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Netanyahu said the occupied Golan Heights would remain under Israeli control "forever."
He also thanked US President-elect Donald Trump for recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the territory during his first term. International law strictly prohibits the acquisition of land by force.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Netanyahu said that the fall of al-Assad was "a direct result of the hard blows we dealt to Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran."
Israel's latest land confiscation was also criticized by UN Secretary General Stéphane Dujarric's spokesman, who said the move was "a violation" of Israel's disengagement agreement of the 1974. The UN peacekeeping force deployed in the Golan Heights, known as UNDOF, "has informed its Israeli counterparts that these actions constitute a violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement," Dujarric said. He added that Israeli forces entering the area were still present in three locations.
"More than 100 shots"
Meanwhile, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations told the Security Council that the deployment of troops in the area was "limited and temporary."
"I addressed the Security Council and made it clear that in response to the growing security threat along the Syrian-Israeli border and the danger it poses to our citizens, we have taken limited and temporary measures," Ambassador Danny Danon wrote in X.
Beyond the ground incursion, Israeli forces have bombed targets across Syria since the removal of al-Assad on Sunday. Reuters news agency quoted Syrian security forces as saying that Israel bombed three air bases in Syria on Monday - sites near Damascus, Homs and Qamish.
Israel also launched strikes on military installations in the coastal city of Latakia, Reuters reported.
The Israeli military generally does not claim responsibility for the attacks in Syria.
Israel carried out three airstrikes in Damascus a day ago against a government security compound and a research center, two security sources said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said that Israel had carried out more than 100 airstrikes on military facilities across the country on Monday. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Observatory, said the intensification of Israeli attacks was aimed at "destroying the military capabilities of the old regime."
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