ANKARA 

The Syrian Turkmen Assembly (STA) on Tuesday denounced U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

Dubbing Trump’s move as “illegitimate,” the assembly said: "We, as representatives of Golan Turkmens, do not recognize this decision and will never do."

"The Golan Heights, one of the ancient Turkmen regions in Syria, has been under Israeli occupation for 52 years. Today, these lands are sought to be usurped in violation of international law,” it said in a statement.

The STA warned that "such impositions would further incite the existing conflicts” in the region.

The assembly called on the EU, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the United Nations General Assembly as well as the Turkic world to stand up against the decision.

On Monday, Trump signed a presidential proclamation officially recognizing the Golan Heights as an Israeli territory.

The UN said the Golan’s legal status would remain unchanged -- despite Trump’s announcement -- and would still be considered an “occupied territory” under international law.

Israel occupied the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

The self-proclaimed Jewish state continues to occupy roughly two-thirds of the wider Golan Heights region as a direct result of the conflict.

In 1981, Israel formally annexed the territory in a move unanimously rejected at the time by the UN Security Council.

* Writing by Nilay Kar Onum