Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy rejected Colombia’s announcement recognising Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, saying the move had no legal effect and carried no value in determining the territory’s status or sovereignty.
“The Golan Heights will remain occupied Syrian territory under international law and relevant international resolutions,” Fahmy said in a statement on Tuesday.
He stressed that sovereignty over territory could not be acquired through occupation or created by a political position adopted by any state, adding that the legal status of the Golan was too firmly established to be affected by changes in governments or their policies.
Fahmy cited UN Security Council Resolution 497, adopted in 1981, which declared Israel’s imposition of its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Golan Heights “null and void and without international legal effect.”
Political positions, regardless of their source, could not legitimise occupation, alter borders or establish rights over another state’s territory, he said.
Fahmy urged the Colombian government to withdraw its announcement and bring its position into line with international law, UN resolutions and the established international position on the status of the occupied Syrian Golan.
He reiterated the Arab League’s support for Syria’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and its rejection of any measures or positions that could legitimise the Israeli occupation or entrench its consequences.
