Residents of the Dara’a refugee camp protested the decision by US President Donald Trump to recognize the sovereignty of the Israeli occupation over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights. The move sparked Arab and international outcry with many countries reaffirming the integrity of the Syrian territory.
Dozens of residents of Dara’a refugee camp on Wednesday held a protest against President Trump’s decision. The protestors held signs denouncing the decision and asserting that the Golan Heights is Syrian land.
The protestors accused the Assad regime of complicity in facilitating the Israeli occupation forces’ control of the Golan Heights. They said that the Assad regime oppresses the Syrian people but shows complete submissiveness to Syria’s enemies, noting that the regime’s talk about resistance to the Israeli occupation is no more than empty slogans.
Residents of Sawaida province on Tuesday held a sit-in protest against President Trump’s announcement. They also scrawled graffiti accusing the Assad regime of treason and of handing over the Golan Heights to the occupation army. They also demanded the overthrow of the regime which “has long repeated the empty slogans of resistance to the enemy.”
President Trump’s decision has sparked Arab and international outcry as more statements are issued to condemn the move and warn of its serious repercussions for the region.
Rights groups said that the move contravenes UN Security Council Resolution 497 affirming the legal status of the Golan Heights as an occupied Syrian territory and rejecting the Israeli occupation’s decision to annex it in 1981. The resolution also considers the decision as null and void.
Dara’a camp is home to hundreds of Golan Heights natives who left their land after the Six-Day War of 1967 and resettled in various areas of Syria. The majority of these live in refugee settlements along with the Palestinian refugees.
The Syrian Coalition said that the attempts by US President Donald Trump to grant legitimacy to the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights “constitutes a violation of international law and consolidation of the law of the jungle.” It warned the international community against “remaining silent about any allusions to the territorial integrity of Syria.”
A Financial Times’ editorial on Monday said that President Trump has “set a dangerous precedent that risks repercussions far beyond the region,” adding that “Donald Trump has once again displayed a reckless disregard for international norms.” (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
