UN General Assembly calls on Israel to pull out of Golan Heights

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a resolution demanding Israel's withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which it occupied in 1967 and annexed in 1981.

The resolution was adopted by 123 votes in favour to seven against - including Israel and the United States - with 41 abstentions.

The Golan Heights is a strategically important rocky plateau, about 60 kilometres long and 25 kilometres wide. It was captured by Israel in 1967 and annexed in 1981. However, this was not recognized internationally.

The UN resolution declared that Israel's decision in 1981 "to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the occupied Syrian Golan is null and void and called for its rescission."

"Further, the Assembly called on Israel to resume talks on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks and to respect the commitments and undertakings reached previously. It also demanded that Israel withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967."

Although resolutions passed by the 193-member General Assembly are non-binding, they carry symbolic weight and reflect global sentiment.

"The UN General Assembly once again proves how disconnected it is from reality," Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, said on X in response to the vote.

"Instead of addressing the crimes of the Iranian axis and the dangerous activities of militias in Syria, it demands that Israel withdraw from the Golan Heights - a vital defense line that protects our citizens. Israel will not return to the 1967 lines and will not abandon the Golan. Not now, not ever."