Turkey: US ignoring international law on Golan Heights

ANKARA

Turkey said Monday the U.S. is ignoring international laws by recognizing Israeli sovereignty over occupied Golan Heights.

"The U.S. once again ignored international laws, however, this decision will never legitimize Israel's annexation," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a tweet.

Earlier on Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential proclamation officially recognizing the strategic highlands on the border with Syria as Israel's territory during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House

Trump said the occupied territory is "a potential launching ground for attacks against Israel".

Condemning the move, Cavusoglu said: "[The decision] will hinder the peace efforts in the Middle East and escalate tensions in the region."

Israel has long lobbied the U.S. to recognize its claim over the Golan Heights, but all past administration refused to heed the calls.

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War.

Israel occupies roughly two-thirds of the wider Golan Heights as a de facto result of the conflict. It moved to formally annex the territory in 1981 -- an action unanimously rejected at the time by the UN Security Council.