by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief
(Worthy News) – Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told the United Nations on Wednesday that peace with Israel remains possible, even as he insisted Damascus will never surrender its claim to the Golan Heights and demanded Israeli forces withdraw from areas of southern Syria.
“The opportunity for peace and security is available to those who wish to live in peace,” Sharaa told world leaders, describing what he called a “just peace that maintains the rights of all.” At the same time, he accused Israel of hundreds of airstrikes and incursions since the fall of Bashar Assad’s government in late 2024 and declared, “Golan will remain Syrian territory.”
Sharaa said a day earlier that negotiations with Israel had made significant progress toward a security agreement, claiming roughly 90 percent of the outstanding issues had been resolved. Syria and Israel remain formally at war, but U.S.-mediated talks have intensified since Assad’s ouster. Damascus is seeking a return to the 1974 disengagement lines and an Israeli withdrawal from the border buffer zone.
Washington Recognized Israeli Sovereignty Over Golan
The status of the Golan Heights remains one of the central obstacles to any broader agreement. Israel captured the strategically important plateau from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and applied Israeli law to the territory in 1981.
In March 2019, President Donald Trump formally changed longstanding U.S. policy by signing a presidential proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The proclamation states that “the United States recognizes that the Golan Heights are part of the State of Israel,” citing Israel’s security requirements and threats emanating from Syria.
The United Nations and most governments continue to regard the territory as Syrian land under Israeli control, creating a sharp diplomatic divide between Damascus’ position and Washington’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz responded to Sharaa’s UN remarks by declaring the Golan Heights an “integral, eternal part of Israel” and saying Israeli forces would remain on Mount Hermon and in the security zone as long as Israel faces jihadist threats from Syrian territory.
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