Syria reasserts right to reclaim occupied Golan Heights, urges UN to stop Israel crimes

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad has denounced a recent rocket attack that killed a dozen people in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, reaffirming the Damascus government’s “legitimate right” to restore its sovereignty over the strategic mountainous region.

The top Syrian diplomat condemned the strike on the town of Majdal al-Shams, urging the UN to investigate frequent violations and attacks by Israeli forces on the Syrian territory.

Mekdad made the remarks in a meeting with visiting UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix and his accompanying delegation on Monday.

He also reiterated his country's legitimate right to reclaim the Golan Heights, calling upon the United Nation to intervene and stop repeated Israeli acts of aggression against the residents of the territory.

He underlined that Syria will continue to cooperate with and provide the necessary facilitation to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

He stressed the importance of the UNDOF's mandate in maintaining peace and security in the occupied Golan Heights as well as the need for UN intervention to “halt the actions of the occupying Israeli regime against the residents of the region.”

UNDOF is a United Nations peacekeeping mission tasked with maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria in the aftermath of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

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For his part, Lacroix acknowledged the cooperation and support provided by the Syrian government.

He underscored the role of UN peacekeeping operations in maintaining and promoting international peace and security, and highlighted the significance of efforts to de-escalate regional tensions.

Lacroix and his delegation will conduct an on-site assessment of UNDOF operations and positions in the Golan Heights.

The Israeli regime seized the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and later occupied it in a move that has never been recognized by the international community. The regime has built dozens of settlements in the area ever since and has been using the region as a launch pad for its military operations against the Arab country.

At least 12 people were killed and several others wounded on Saturday in the rocket attack on a football pitch in the town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israeli officials claimed that Hezbollah was behind the attack and pledged to hit back at the Lebanese resistance group.

In a written statement, Hezbollah said, “The Islamic Resistance has absolutely nothing to do with the incident, and categorically denies all false allegations in this regard.”

Some reports, meanwhile, said the explosion might have been caused by a stray projectile fired by the regime’s Iron Dome missile system.

The regime, however, insisted on blaming the resistance movement for the incident, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Hezbollah was to “pay heavy price” after the incident.

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