Amman, Aug. 11 (Petra) — First Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of
Representatives Khamis Atiyeh on Tuesday condemned Colombia’s
decision to recognize what he called “Israeli sovereignty” over the
occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

In a statement, Atiyeh said the decision did not confer any
legitimacy on the Israeli occupation and represented a dangerous
alignment with the use of force and the imposition of faits accomplis
at the expense of international law and peoples’ rights.

“Israel is an occupying power and has no right to the territories it
occupies,” he said.

Atiyeh said Israel had for decades pursued policies of settlement,
displacement, annexation, and land confiscation while committing
systematic violations against the Palestinian and Syrian peoples.

“Recognition of the occupation does not change its nature, nor does
it turn a violation into an acquired right,” he said.

Recognizing what he described as “Israeli sovereignty” over the
occupied Syrian Golan Heights would encourage Israel to continue its
policy of annexation and imposing faits accomplis by force, Atiyeh
said.

He warned against rewarding Israel for its violations or granting it
political gains at the expense of people’s rights, the principles of
international law, and resolutions of international legitimacy.

Atiyeh said Israel was practicing state terrorism in the occupied
Palestinian territories through killing, destruction, starvation, and
displacement.

He said developments in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were stark
evidence of the Israeli government’s disregard for international law
and its continued pursuit of an expansionist agenda.

Atiyeh called on the international community to adopt a firm position
towards the Israeli government, end double standards, and enforce
international law and relevant international resolutions without
selectivity.

Continued silence over Israeli violations would encourage it to
pursue policies of killing, displacement, settlement, and expansion,
he said.

//Petra// AF