UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has firmly declared that the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights are Syrian territory, urging the Tel Aviv regime to stop violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Guterres made the statement during a press conference on Saturday following his meeting with Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, head of Syria’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham-led regime. He was in Damascus marking the first visit by a UN secretary-general to Syria since 2009, before the 14-year US-Israeli covert war on the Arab country began.
“I’d like to remind the international community that the Golan Heights are Syrian territory,” he said. “Violations of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable and must cease.”
He condemned the Israeli regime’s ongoing violations of Syria’s sovereignty and expressed hope for a future determined by the Syrians themselves and “defined by peace, dignity, and opportunity” in Syria.
Guterres pledged a stronger UN role in supporting Syria’s future, stressing the need for international “partnership and solidarity.”
“No country emerges from a very severe conflict and rebuilds itself on its own,” the UN chief said. “We have no UN agenda for Syria. Our agenda is the agenda of the Syrian government and the Syrian people.”
The secretary general is scheduled to address Syria’s parliament on Monday before leaving for Cyprus.
Separately, in an interview with Al Jazeera on Sunday, Jolani said he is actively working with several countries to reach a security agreement with Israel, insisting such a deal would not compromise Syria’s right to the occupied Golan Heights.
Jolani, once affiliated with al-Qaeda and Daesh, also ruled out “any military intervention in Lebanon,” saying discussions were underway with the Lebanese government on solutions that would help ensure the country’s safety.
“The solution in Lebanon is not necessarily a security one, and we are working on a comprehensive approach to the crisis,” he said, noting that “any chaos in Lebanon could have repercussions for Syria.”
He also voiced support for “the Lebanese state’s monopoly over arms,” implicitly supporting Hezbollah’s disarmament.
Since late 2024, following the fall of president Bashar al-Assad government during an Israeli-backed onslaught overwhelming Syria, Israeli forces have advanced into a United Nations-designated Area of Separation created in 1974 after a UN-brokered ceasefire.
The 235-square-kilometer zone was originally intended as neutral territory to prevent escalation, patrolled by UN peacekeepers.
Most countries still reject Tel Aviv’s annexation of the broader Golan Heights, seized in 1967.
The regime alleges that some of its deeper strikes inside Syria are meant to defend the Druze minority, a claim met with skepticism by independent analysts, who note that the Israeli military has simultaneously bombed civilian infrastructure and political targets far from any verified sectarian frontlines. The Druze, themselves, have also rejected “Israeli protection.”
Trump has embraced the new Syrian ruler, who rose to power as a result of the Israeli-backed military drive. He has hosted him at the White House.
