Syria · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
Ahmed Al-Sharaa Tells UN Golan Heights Will Remain Syrian, Demands Israeli Withdrawal
Golan Heights will remain Syrian; Damascus rejects Israeli sovereignty and demands Israeli withdrawal. Sharaa told UN General Assembly that Israel must withdraw to the 1967 lines.
12 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Aleppo Governor Azzam Al-Gharib Urges Residents Not To Approach Al-Ays Explosion Site →
6 of 9 outlets skipped it: nearly 90% agreement on outstanding security issues claimed.
12outlets compared
Sharaa rejects Israeli control
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told the UN General Assembly in New York that the occupied Golan Heights will remain Syrian territory and demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Syrian territory.
““The Golan will remain Syrian land,” he said, adding that all annexation measures are invalid under UN Security Council Resolution 497.”
Al-Sharaa said, “The Golan will remain Syrian land,” and he added that all annexation measures are invalid under UN Security Council Resolution 497.
Al-Sharaa also accused Israel of carrying out nearly 500 air and artillery strikes, more than 1,200 incursions, and around 300 arrests and detentions of Syrians.
Al-Sharaa said Damascus remains committed to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and continues to call for Israeli forces to withdraw to the lines held before Dec. 8, 2024.
Al-Sharaa’s remarks came as the UN General Assembly session marked his second consecutive appearance at the UN rostrum, after his attendance at the 80th session in September 2025.
Trump and the New Jersey quip
Al-Sharaa recounted a prior conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House, saying he teased Trump when Trump spoke about the Golan Heights falling under Israeli sovereignty.
Al-Sharaa said, “Why not grant New Jersey to the Israelis? You don’t own the Golan to give it today, but you own New Jersey,” and he framed the remark as a principled political position.
Al-Sharaa emphasized, “Beyond this joke, the Golan Heights belong to its people,” and he said it is not the right of the Syrian president, the American president, or anyone else to relinquish or cede it.
Al-Sharaa’s remarks were tied to his account of security negotiations, with one report saying he told an Atlantic Council panel that Syria and Israel had reached “almost 90% of agreements” before Israel pulled back or introduced new conditions.
Al-Sharaa also used his UN speech to denounce repeated Israeli strikes, saying, “There have been 500 air strikes, more than 1,200 incursions, and 300 detentions.”
UN resolutions and next steps
Al-Sharaa told the UN that any attempts to violate Syria’s sovereignty and international law will be stopped, and he said, “Golan will remain Syrian territories.”
““Any attempts that violate our sovereignty, violate international law, will be stopped. Golan will remain Syrian territories.”
Al-Sharaa said any other attempts will be thwarted according to Security Council Resolution 497, which the UN Security Council adopted unanimously and which declares Israel’s move “null and void and without international legal effect.”
Al-Sharaa said he urged countries that abstained in a December 2025 UN General Assembly vote to reconsider Resolution 497, after 123 countries backed a resolution concerning the occupied Syrian Golan.
Al-Sharaa also said Damascus remains committed to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and called for Israeli forces to withdraw to the lines held before Dec. 8, 2024.
Al-Sharaa’s position, as described in one account, set a boundary for Damascus at a sensitive stage of negotiations by ruling out sovereignty talks over the Golan while it sought security arrangements to ease tensions in southern Syria.