By NNN-SANA,
Damascus : Syria has strongly condemned the Israeli hostile measures in Jerusalem as blatant violation of international law, resolutions and conventions to change the city’s nature and its demographic status.
“Syria vehemently condemns the Israeli measures in Jerusalem which are considered as a violation of the fourth Geneva Convention and the UN resolutions, especially the Security Council resolutions, which do not recognise Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem,” a Foreign Ministry statement said Tuesday.
The statement added that such actions pose a threat against the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and the religious and cultural international elements of the city.
The statement said that Israel’s continued destruction of cultural and religious heritage of Jerusalem and the ongoing excavations under the Al-Aqsa Mosque and in the Mughrabi Gate clearly reflected Israel’s continuing escalation of the situation in the region and defiance of the international community and legitimacy of the resolutions.”
“Surrounding the city with fresh settlements and confiscating Palestinian homes and properties starkly indicates the real Israeli intentions to annex Jerusalem and swallow up Palestinian lands again, as it strengthens the conviction that there are no serious intentions on the Israeli side regarding the attempts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region.”
The statement added that Syria warned against the devastating repercussions of these policies, and called on the international community to take practical measures to force the Israeli authorities to stop such acts immediately as they constitute a violation of international law and hinder the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace in the region.
“Syria calls for forcing Israel to comply with its legal obligations under international law, in particular the fourth Geneva Convention for 1949 whose principles apply to the Arab lands occupied by Israel in 1967, including East Jerusalem,” the statement added.