DAMASCUS / ISTANBUL

Syria on Wednesday praised growing international support for a UN General Assembly resolution on the occupied Golan Heights, saying the backing of 123 countries represents “strong support for new Syria.”

On Tuesday evening, the General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Israel to withdraw from the Syrian Golan Heights, reaffirming that Israel’s occupation and annexation of the territory are “illegal.”

The vote passed with 123 in favor against 7, including Israel and the US, and 41 abstentions.

The vote “clearly supports Syria’s position because the resolution describes Israel’s continued occupation of the Golan as an obstacle to achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the region,” Syria’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The rise in supporting votes from 97 last year to 123 this year “shows the scale of broad international support for the new Syria and its principled national stance on the occupied Golan,” the statement added.

The ministry said that the vote reflects “intensive diplomatic efforts,” noting that the resolution calls on Israel to withdraw to the June 4, 1967 lines and reaffirms the principle that territory cannot be acquired by force. It also rejects settlement building and all other Israeli activities in the occupied Golan.

The resolution notes Israel has not complied with UN Security Council Resolution 497 of 1981, and affirms that the continued occupation and de facto annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights constitute an obstacle to achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the region, the ministry said.

Resolution 497 calls on Israel to end its de facto annexation of the Golan.

Damascus expressed “deep gratitude” to Egypt for submitting the resolution and thanked countries that consistently supported it.

The ministry stressed that Syria’s engagement in technical discussions that affect its security and the region’s stability does not mean any concession on the Golan, describing the vote as proof of Syria’s position.

The annual resolution, traditionally submitted by the Arab Group, reaffirms the occupied status of the Golan. While not legally binding like Security Council resolutions, it reflects the prevailing international stance rejecting Israel’s occupation.

Israel has occupied the Golan since 1967 and expanded further into the buffer zone and Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime last year. It declared the 1974 disengagement agreement collapsed.

Recent months saw Syrian-Israeli talks aimed at reaching security arrangements to halt Israeli attacks on Damascus, but the effort stalled as Tel Aviv refused to withdraw from areas it seized after Assad’s fall on Dec. 8, 2024.

Despite calls from US President Donald Trump for de-escalation, Israel continued its violations of Syrian sovereignty through near-daily airstrikes and ground incursions.