UN official condemns Israel attacks on Syria as violations of int’l law

Ben Saul, the UN special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, said yesterday in a UN conference that Israel’s attacks on Syria have ‘absolutely no basis under international law. You can’t preventively or pre-emptively disarm a country you don't like.’ He stressed that Israel only has the right to self-defence from countries who attack it, warning that the endless support Israel's allies offer has jeopardised the country's security and left the Israeli people and the region less secure.

Israel’s attacks on Syria are another example of its unlawful behaviour in the region, George Katrougalos, the UN Independent Expert on the International Order, said yesterday.

Speaking at a press conference at the UN Office in Geneva, Katrougalos was joined by Ben Saul, the special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism, and Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories.

Saul stated that Israel was launching attacks against a sovereign state without provocation and highlighted the rapid and unexpected developments occurring in Syria. He also stressed the importance of protecting the rights of all societal groups, including minorities.

OPINION: What challenges are on the horizon of the new Syria?

Responding to a question about Israel’s justification for attacking Syria to destroy weapons it claims could threaten Tel Aviv, Saul said: “There is no basis in international law to disarm a country preemptively or preventively simply because you dislike it. Such actions are completely illegal and have no foundation in international law. This has been Israel’s approach in Syria for at least a decade.”

On Monday, Israeli Army Radio reported that occupation forces conducted a ground incursion into the buffer zone with Syria and continued extensive aerial strikes with heavy bombs on sites in the area.

Taking advantage of the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime, Israel intensified its air strikes, targeting military sites across Syria in a blatant violation of the country’s sovereignty.

Israel also declared that it now believes the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with Syria had collapsed. It announced the deployment of its forces in the demilitarised zone of the occupied Golan Heights, which it has largely controlled since 1967. This move was condemned by the United Nations and Arab countries.

It has also occupied Syria’s highest peak, Mount Hermon, and raised its flag over it.

Israel seizes Mount Hermon, the highest point in Syria

Israeli occupation forces have seized the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, the strategic mountain overlooking the Israeli occupied Syrian Golan Heights, the Galilee and the Damascus area.

Israel is moving its forces deeper into… pic.twitter.com/O68bNb4MBo

— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) December 10, 2024

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.