Ahmad al-Sharaa tells UN Israel must leave southern Syria and Golan

Syria's interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa used his speech at the UN General Assembly to sharply criticise Israel's occupation of southern Syria and to reiterate that the Golan Heights is an inseparable part of Syria. He said Israel had stepped up military action in Syria since he took power and rejected any attempt to alter the territory's status.

Al-Sharaa also said Syria remained committed to the 1974 agreement that created a demilitarised separation zone between Israeli and Syrian forces and called on Israeli troops to pull back to the lines of Dec. 8, 2024. He said that was the day insurgents led by him removed Bashar Assad from power and Israel began sending in forces.

In his address, al-Sharaa said Israel had carried out more than 500 air and artillery strikes on Syria since he took power nearly two years ago. He also said Israel had carried out 1,200 land incursions and detained nearly 300 people.

He condemned Israel's control of the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed in 1981. In 2019, US President Donald Trump recognised Israeli sovereignty over the territory, reversing decades of US policy. The United Nations and most of the international community consider the territory occupied Syrian land and do not recognise Israel's annexation. "No attempts at imposing a fait accompli can undermine the legitimacy of our state, the sovereignty of our law, or the force of international law," al-Sharaa said. "The Golan will remain a Syrian land."

Israel has occupied a portion of southern Syria since Assad was toppled, calling it a defensive move to prevent potential attacks on its territory. Al-Sharaa said Syria remained committed to the UN-backed arrangement in the separation zone, where a UN peacekeeping force is stationed to maintain calm. On Tuesday, speaking at an Atlantic Council event, he jokingly said he had asked Trump why he did not give Israel New Jersey instead of the Golan Heights.

The speech brought together Syria's core complaints over Israeli actions in the south, its rejection of Israel's hold over the Golan Heights, and its demand for a withdrawal to the Dec. 8, 2024 lines while staying committed to the 1974 separation agreement.