Dhaka worried over Trump's Golan Heights decision

Bangladesh has expressed deep concern over the recent announcement of the US's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

“This is a clear violation of the Charter of the United Nations, principles of international law and relevant Security Council Resolutions,” a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

Bangladesh has always urged the occupying State of Israel to immediately halt its actions to alter the legal, physical and demographic status of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights in accordance with the Security Council Resolution 497, it said.

Bangladesh believes that changing the status of occupied Syrian Golan Heights by the US bypassing the Security Council is a direct violation of the UN's decisions.

“Bangladesh maintains its principled position on a comprehensive solution to the issues in the Middle East in accordance with the relevant Security Council Resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the quartet roadmap," it said.

US President Donald Trump on Monday declared that the Golan Heights belongs to Israel, a move that risks plunging the volatile region into a new crisis.

With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking over his shoulder at the White House, Trump signed a proclamation officially granting the US's recognition of the Golan as Israeli territory -- a dramatic shift from decades of US policy.

The move immediately triggered global anger and a sharp response from Syria, which once held the strategic land.