Geneva, SANA – Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Hussam Eddin Ala, affirmed that the Israeli violations of international humanitarian law and the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people and of the people of the occupied Syrian Golan are systematic discriminatory practices and violations of the legal obligations of the Israeli occupation authorities, which requires the Human Rights Council to monitor and condemn these acts under Item 7.

This came in a statement delivered at the 35the session of the UN Human Rights Council on the Item 7 and the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, which is held in Geneva.

Ambassador Ala said that after decades of failing to curb the systematic violations of international law and humanitarian law carried out by Israel, there are now countries that continue to exercise selectivity and double standards and boycott Item 7 in support of Israel, and these countries must shoulder their responsibility in taking effective measures to stop the illegal practices of the occupation authorities and to compel Israel to withdraw fully from the Arab territories occupied in 1967, including the occupied Syrian Golan, the rest of Lebanese land, and occupied Palestinian territories, and enable the Palestinian people to determine their destiny and establish their state on all of their national soil with Jerusalem as its capital.

Ala added that the Israeli settlement and attempts to change the demographic character and composition of the occupied Syrian Golan remain the clearest expression of Israel’s contempt for international law and UN Security Council resolutions, calling on the companies operating in the occupied Syrian Golan to end their trade cooperation that supports the settlement and contributes to the Israeli occupation.

He noted that as part of its efforts to consecrate its occupation of the Syrian Golan, the Israeli authorities are implementing settlement projects, including the allocation of 10,000 donums for the so-called farms project to receive 750 new families of settlers.

Ala pointed out that Israel continues to subject the people of the occupied Syrian Golan to arbitrary detention under inhumane conditions, affirming that Syria reiterates its rejection of the mock trials conducted by the occupation authorities and condemns the unjust 14-year jail sentence against Syrian captive Sudqi al-Maqt who has been detained since February 2015 for exposing the support offered by the Israeli occupation to Jabhat al-Nusra, demanding to immediately release him.

The Ambassador said that facilitating the movement of terrorist organizations in the occupied Syrian Golan by Israel constitutes a violation of the Separation of Forces agreement and Security Council resolutions relating to the fight against terrorism, and this has contributed to the continued tension in the region, adding that the UNDOF reports documented cooperation between Israel and members of armed terrorist organizations and the delivery of aid to them.

Manar al-Freih / Hazem Sabbagh