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

Israel’s UN envoy, defense 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 al-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 al-Sharaa with the name he went by as a militia leader.

In his speech, al-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