ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday condemned what it called Israel’s seizure of Syrian territory, saying it was a “grave breach” of international law that Israeli troops had moved into a demilitarized zone inside Syria after Damascus fell to opposition forces last week.
After the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday ended 54 years of rule by the Assad family, Israeli troops moved into the demilitarized zone set up after the 1973 Middle East war, saying the incursion was a temporary measure to ensure border security. Israel aims to impose a “sterile defense zone” in southern Syria that would be enforced without a permanent troop presence, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday, as the military said a wave of air strikes had destroyed the bulk of Syria’s strategic weapons stockpiles.
Over the past 48 hours, the Israeli military said jets had conducted more than 350 strikes on targets including anti-aircraft batteries, military airfields, weapons production sites, combat aircraft and missiles. In addition, missile vessels struck the Syrian naval facilities of Al-Bayda port and Latakia port, where 15 Syrian naval vessels were docked.
“Pakistan condemns in the strongest possible terms, Israeli aggression against Syria and its illegal seizure of the Syrian territory,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement. “This assault on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria is a grave breach of international law.”
She said Israel’s actions were a “dangerous” development in the already volatile Middle East region and violated United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, urging the international community, including the UNSC, to take immediate steps against Israel’s “repeated violations of aggression” against regional countries.
“Pakistan expresses full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and rejects Israeli acquisition of territory by force,” she said.
“We reaffirm our support for the UNSC Resolution 497, which declares Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights null and void and without international legal effect.”
The hilly, 1,200-square-kilometer (460 square-mile) Golan Heights is a fertile and strategic plateau that overlooks Israel’s Galilee region as well as Lebanon, and borders Jordan. The Heights were part of Syria until 1967, when Israel captured most of the plateau in the Six-Day War, occupying it and annexing it unilaterally in 1981. That annexation was not recognized by most countries. Syria still holds part of the Golan and has demanded that Israel withdraw from the rest of it. Israel has refused, citing security concerns.
With inputs from Reuters
