Gulf Arab states have rejected a U.S. decision to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait have warned that the move will hurt the peace process in the Middle East and affect regional stability.
All regional allies of Washington that host American troops criticized the move by President Donald Trump to recognize Israel’s 1981 annexation, and said the territory was occupied Arab land.
A statement on Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA described US declaration as a clear violation of the United Nations Charter and of international law.
Kuwait and Bahrain said they regretted the decision while Qatar called on Israel to end its occupation of the Golan Heights and comply with international resolutions.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump for recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel said the move was against international law.
Meanwhile, Spokesman for UN Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric in a daily press briefing said that the United Nation's policy on Israeli-occupied Golan Heights remains unchanged despite the U.S. administration's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over territory.
Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally.
In another move, Chinese foreign ministry's spokesperson Geng Shuang in a briefing in Beijing today opposed US move of formally recognizing Golan Heights as Israeli territory and opposed the change of facts through unilateral acts.
He said the international community recognizes that the Golan Heights is an occupied territory.
