More states warn Israel against settlement expansion in occupied Golan Heights

Turkey, Egypt and Germany have warned Israel against settlement expansion in the occupied Golan Heights at the southwestern edge of Syria following the fall of President Assad.

In a statement released on Monday, the Turkish foreign ministry said that this decision was a new stage in Israel’s goal of expanding its frontiers through occupation.

"This step by Israel is a source of grave concern, taken together with Israel’s entry into the area of separation, in violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement, its advance into adjacent areas and airstrikes in Syria.”

The move would “seriously undermine” efforts to bring stability to Syria after Bashar al-Assad’s fall, the ministry added.

Egypt's foreign ministry also expressed its categorical rejection of the Israeli regime’s decision to expand settlements in the occupied Golan Height, considering the move a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and integrity of Syria’s territories.

The ministry also said that Israel's continued expansion in seizing Arab lands and altering the demographic makeup of the occupied territories clearly violates international law.

"These plans once again reflect Israel's lack of willingness to achieve a just peace in the region," the ministry said.

It called on the active international parties and the UN Security Council to assume their responsibilities in rejecting these violations of Syrian sovereignty and put an end to Israeli settlement activities.

Germany, one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe, also called on Israel to “abandon” the plan to double the population of the main part of the occupied Golan Heights.

Christian Wagner, a German foreign ministry spokesperson, said it was “perfectly clear under international law that this area controlled by Israel belongs to Syria and that Israel is therefore an occupying power”.

Wagner said it was “absolutely crucial now that all actors in the region take into account the territorial integrity of Syria and do not call it into question”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's regime unanimously approved a plan to “promote demographic growth” in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights on Sunday.

Israel approves plan to expand settlements in occupied Golan

The Israeli army has occupied additional Syrian territory since HTS captured Damascus last week.

Israel has occupied additional Syrian territory since militants from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by former al-Qaeda leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani captured Damascus last week.

Despite supporting Jolani in the past, Israel is now using his group's presence as a pretext to occupy additional Syrian land and bomb Syria's military infrastructure.

Israel’s exploitation of the current chaotic situation in Syria to invade and occupy the country has sparked a wave of condemnations.

The Israeli decision was also censured by several other Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq.

The Israeli army occupied the Syrian Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel refused to withdraw its forces or return the territory amid demands by the UN Security Council Resolution 242.

Israel has already set up about three dozen Jewish settlements in the occupied Golan over the past years.

The international community views the settlements in Palestine and elsewhere as illegal under international law and the Geneva Conventions.

Israel is already engaged in a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.

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