Turkey on Monday condemned an Israeli plan to double the population in the occupied and annexed Golan Heights, calling it a “border expansion.” The Turkish foreign ministry, in a statement, said this decision indicates a new phase of Israel’s ongoing ambition for an expansionist policy through occupation.
The Israeli government approved the plan on Sunday, shortly after its troops seized a UN-monitored buffer zone adjacent to Syria amid advancing rebel forces threatening Damascus. Turkey voiced grave concerns over Israel’s actions, particularly in light of its entry into the separation area, which violates the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, as well as its airstrikes in Syria. It said the moves could “seriously undermine” efforts to restore stability in Syria after the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Golan Heights is a strategically important mountainous plateau in southwestern Syria that Israel seized largely in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed. It is separated from Syria by a UN-patrolled buffer zone. In response to the backlash, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the population boost as a “limited and temporary step” necessary for “security reasons.”.
