Israel’s UN envoy, defence minister reassert claim to Golan after al-Sharaa speech

Israel’s UN envoy, defence minister reassert claim to Golan after al-Sharaa speech

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the Golan Heights would remain under Israeli sovereignty "forever", after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.

"My clear response to the Syrian president, who made bombastic declarations from the UN podium: The Golan under Israeli sovereignty is an inseparable part of the State of Israel forever," Katz said in a video statement.

Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon also responded to Sharaa’s speech by reasserting Israel’s claim to the occupied Golan Heights.

“But no speech will change reality, al-Jolani: the Golan Heights will always be part of Israel,” Danon wrote on X, referring to Sharaa with the name he went by as a militant leader.

In his speech, Sharaa repeatedly invoked UN Security Council Resolution 497, adopted in 1981, which declared Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights “null and void and without international legal effect”.

This is what a speech translated from Turkish looks like.

But no speech will change reality, al-Jolani: the Golan Heights will always be part of Israel. 🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/RKQb9G63wv

— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) September 23, 2026