Several Middle Eastern states condemn Israeli plans to expand settlements in Golan Heights

Multiple Middle Eastern nations on Monday denounced Israel’s decision to double the Israeli settler population in the illegally occupied Syrian territory.

The criticism comes amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in Syria after the ouster of al-Assad as the new caretaker government takes over.

Israel approved the settlement expansion days after the Israeli military seized more Syrian territory after al-Assad’s fall.

Syria has also been under intense Israeli bombardment with hundreds of attacks targeting military sites and research centres across the country.

Several countries have denounced Israel’s attacks on Syria. This week, more countries criticised Israel’s plans for the Golan Heights:

• Qatar rebuked the scheme as a “new episode in a series of Israeli aggressions on Syrian territories”.
• Jordan called it a “blatant violation of international law”.
• Turkiye denounced the move as a bid by Israel to “expand its borders”.
• Saudi Arabia slammed “continued sabotage of Syria’s chances of restoring its security and stability”.
• Egypt condemned the plans as “a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

Israel occupied the Golan in 1967 and subsequently annexed it in 1981 in a move that is seen as illegitimate by most of the international community.

The recent Israeli plan will allocate more than 40 million shekels ($11m) to increase the settler population.

“Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom and settle in it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Sunday.

The new authorities in Syria have signalled that they do not seek confrontation with Israel.

Meanwhile, the United States announced on Monday that its forces have conducted air strikes in Syria that killed 12 ISIL (ISIS or Daesh) “terrorists”.

“The strikes against the ISIS leaders, operatives, and camps were conducted as part of the ongoing mission to disrupt, degrade, and defeat ISIS, preventing the terrorist group from conducting external operations and to ensure that ISIS does not seek opportunities to reconstitute in central Syria,” the US military said in a statement.