Damascus – Thousands of Syrians gathered Tuesday in different cities to protest President Donald Trump’s formal recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, a move that was widely criticized across the Arab and Muslim world, including by U.S. allies.
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SANA posted photographs of a march in the southern city of Sweida on Tuesday morning, in which men and women carried Syrian and Palestinian flags and banners reading “Golan is Syrian.” SANA said other protests took place in the southern city of Daraa, about 20 kilometers (13 miles) from the Golan Heights.
Protests were also held in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest, Homs and Hama in the center, and Hassakeh in the northeast. Syrian state TV aired live interviews from the southern village of Ein el-Tinneh with the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan in the background.
Mona Ibrahim, a civil servant, said in Damascus that the Golan “will return to Syria no matter how long it takes. Trump’s decision is worthless.”
Trump formally signed the proclamation alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, reversing more than a half-century of U.S. policy in the Middle East.
The U.S. is the first country to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan, which the rest of the international community regards as occupied territory.
Israel has long argued that the strategically important area has, for all practical purposes, been fully integrated into Israel since it was captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and that control of the strategic plateau is needed as protection from Iran and its allies in Syria. Israel annexed the plateau in 1981.
Syria slammed the U.S. step as “blatant aggression.” The Foreign Ministry said Trump’s move represented the “highest level of contempt for international legitimacy” and showed that Washington was “the main enemy” of Arabs.
On Tuesday, the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned Trump’s decision, saying it legitimatized Israeli occupation in violation of international law. It added in a statement that the decision does not change the fact that the Golan Heights “is Arab and Syrian occupied land.”
Iraq’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Alhakim said the “Golan is occupied Syrian land and its sovereignty must fully return to Syria” in accordance with Security Council resolutions.
Gulf Arab states, including U.S. allies that view Iran as a regional menace and supported the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad, also denounced the U.S. move.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain were just some of the Arab countries that condemned the move on Tuesday in official statements. But Gulf states were unlikely to take steps to pressure Trump over the decision. Saudi rulers have welcomed Trump’s tough talk and pressure against rival Iran.
Saudi Arabia said the U.S. decision will have “significant negative effects” on the Middle East peace process and stability in the region.
Tough on the Syrians; we remember how they tortured captured members of the IDF, during the Yom Kippur War. In contrast, their pow’s, were treated very humanely by the Israelis. However, the Syrian soldiers who were returned by Israel to Syria, in a prisoner exchange in 1974, were warned that if they dared tell anyone how well they were treated, they would be severely dealt with.