BEIRUT -- Syria and its Russian and Iranian allies slammed President Donald Trump's call to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Friday, inflaming regional tensions at a time when the Trump administration is seeking to curtail Iran's expanding influence.
A statement by Syria's Foreign Ministry said the move would increase Syria's determination to recover the territory occupied by Israel "by all available means," and Russia and Iran both said it violated international law.
Turkey, a U.S. ally, said it risked creating a new Middle East crisis.
Trump's push to assert Israel's ownership of the strategic heights along the Syrian-Israeli border, conveyed in a tweet Thursday, marked a major shift in U.S. policy and has been welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But it also raised concerns that confrontations along the cease-fire line could escalate.
Israel seized two-thirds of the Golan during the 1967 war, and since 1973 Syria has made no military effort to regain it. Its army is no match for Israel's superior military capabilities.
Israel unilaterally annexed the Golan Heights in 1981. U.N. Security Council resolution 497, issued after the annexation, refers to Israel as "the occupying power" and says Israel's attempt to "impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and without international legal effect."
In the 1990s and in the late 2000s, Damascus engaged in peace talks with Israel, backed by the United States, to secure the return of the territory.
The Syrian civil war, however, has brought Iranian military advisers and Iranian-backed militias such as Lebanon's Hezbollah into the part of the Golan Heights that remains under Syrian control, and they have on a number of occasions fired rockets into Israel, triggering retaliatory strikes.
Syria called the assertion of Israeli sovereignty "irresponsible," saying it revealed America's "mentality of hegemony and arrogance."
"The statements of the American president and his administration ... will never change the fact that the Golan was and will remain part of Arab Syria and that the Syrian people are more resolute and determined to liberate this precious patch of Syrian national territory by all available means," the Foreign Ministry statement said.
Damascus also said Trump's statement "clearly shows the U.S. disdain to the international legitimacy and violates its resolutions, especially Security Council resolution 497" while also threatening "international peace and stability."
U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the United Nations had no comment on Trump's tweet.
"But if you're asking what the U.N. policy on the Golan Heights is, it's very clear," he said. "It's the policy reflected in the resolutions of the Security Council and the relevant resolutions as well of the General Assembly."
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said Trump's assertion was "illegal and unacceptable" and does not change the fact that the Golan "belongs to Syria." The Russian Foreign Ministry said it violated United Nations resolutions which call for the restoration of the territory to Syria.
In a Friday tweet, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif took aim at the U.S., saying that it believes that "persistently violating int'l law, bullying sovereign nations & milking its clients projects strength. It does not. Its recklessness just displays panic of an empire in decline."
Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit also criticized the American stance, saying it "comes outside the international legitimacy, and no country, no matter how important it is, can make such a decision."
The U.S. assertion of Israeli claims will give Iran a propaganda boost at a time when the Trump administration is pressing allies in the region to join efforts to roll back Iranian influence. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Beirut on Friday morning on a visit aimed at urging Lebanese leaders to take action to limit Hezbollah's growing prominence in the Lebanese government.
His message risks being blunted by anger over Trump's Golan tweet, which has also raised fears of a similar U.S. shift on the status of the Palestinian territories.
Announcing the U.S. policy shift on the eve of the Lebanon visit "will backfire," according to Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut. Most ordinary Lebanese, including those who are opposed to Hezbollah, are outraged by the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over land they see as Arab, he said.
"This measure will boost Hezbollah by justifying its military presence on the Golan and giving it an excuse for continued expansion," he said. "Hezbollah will benefit by telling everyone, our pledge to maintain our military arsenal is justified, the war is not over. And it will weaken those who would like to see Hezbollah eventually disarmed."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned in a speech in Istanbul that Trump's "unfortunate remarks" recognizing Israeli sovereignty risked pushing the region toward "a new crisis."
"We cannot allow the legitimization of the occupation of the Golan Heights," he said.
Egypt also issued a statement, saying the Golan is occupied Arab territory and calling for respect for international resolutions.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told reporters that Trump's comments "can destabilize the already fragile situation in the Middle East."
"The very idea is not helping the goals of the Middle East settlement, quite the other way round," he said. "Right now, it's merely a declaration. Let's hope it will stay this way."
In Germany, government spokesman Ulrike Demmer said there was no change to Berlin's position on the Golan Heights, pointing to the 1981 U.N. resolution. She said Germany opposes "unilateral steps," but is well aware of the territory's significance to Israel.
"A peace settlement would have to take account of Israel's very justified security interests and of course stop once and for all the potential dangers to Israel from the Golan Heights," Demmer said. "But for the present, the tensions that already exist should not be deepened."
ANTI-ISRAEL, ANTI-JEWISH
Separately, Trump on Friday repeated his claims that Democrats are "anti-Israel" and "anti-Jewish" ahead of meetings scheduled at the White House next week with Netanyahu.
"The Democrats have very much proven to be anti-Israel," Trump told reporters as he departed the White House en route to Florida. "There's no question about that. And it's a disgrace. I mean, I don't know what's happened to them, but they are totally anti-Israel. Frankly, I think they're anti-Jewish."
Trump made similar claims two weeks ago after a House vote on a resolution broadly condemning hatred rather than specifically condemning past alleged anti-Semitic comments by a freshman Muslim congressman.
His latest remarks drew a swift rebuke from the Jewish Democratic Council of America. In a tweet, the group asked Trump to "stop lying about Democrats and Israel," adding: "Jews should not be treated as political pawns."
The president made his comments ahead of meetings planned with Netanyahu on Monday and Tuesday at the White House. During his trip to Washington, the Israeli leader is also scheduled to address a policy conference hosted by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful pro-Israel group.
Both Democrats and Republicans have sought in recent weeks to cast themselves as defenders of Israel amid heated congressional discussions about anti-Semitism. Historically, Jews have voted for Democrats in far greater numbers than for Republicans.
During his tenure, Trump has taken several actions applauded by Israeli leaders, including Thursday's announcement on the Golan Heights.
The announcement was a political boon to Netanyahu three weeks before he faces a re-election vote at home amid corruption allegations.
The resolution that Trump cited two weeks ago condemned anti-Semitism and discrimination against Muslims in equal measure.
Information for this article was contributed by Liz Sly, John Wagner, Anne Gearan and Eli Rosenberg of The Washington Post; and by Albert Aji, Maggie Michael, Suzan Fraser, Nataliya Vasilyeva, Amir Vahdat, Geir Moulson and Bassem Mroue of The Associated Press.
A Section on 03/23/2019