Syrians protest Trump's move on occupied Golan

DAMASCUS - Demonstrations spread across Syria on Tuesday denouncing Washington's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, in a show of unity in the war-torn country, state media said.

US President Donald Trump, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking over his shoulder during a visit to Washington, on Monday signed a proclamation officially granting US recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and then annexed in 1981 in a move the UN Security Council declared unlawful.

Trump's move immediately drew criticism from the Syrian government, which described it as a "blatant attack" on the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

On Tuesday, demonstrators took to the streets across the war-torn country to protest Washington's decision.

They staged rallies in Damascus, the government strongholds of Latakia and Tartous, the northern city of Aleppo, the central city of Homs, Deir Ezzor in the east and the southern cities of Daraa and Quneitra, state news agency SANA said.

Syrians also protested in the Kurdish-majority northeastern cities of Qamishli and Hassakeh, it said.

Demonstrators carried portraits of President Bashar al-Assad and raised the Syrian and Palestinian flags, in photos carried by SANA.

"The blatant US bias toward Israel will not change the Syrian identity of the Golan," Information Minister Imad Sara told state television during a rally in Damascus.

"There needs to be a strong response", not just condemnations, he said. "We want action on the ground."

In Aleppo, hundreds gathered in the central Saadallah al-Jabiri square.

"We are here to condemn Trump's Golan decision," said Mohammad Shaaban, a protester.

"The Golan is Arab and Syrian whether they like it or not," he said.

In Damascus, the lawyers' syndicate gathered at the justice palace to decry the move, pro-regime television showed.

"America is now the primary enemy of the Arabs," a syndicate representative read from a statement.

The lawyers' syndicate in Hama paused court sessions for one hour in protest over the US decision, SANA said.

Trump's Golan decision spurred condemnation from several regional states, including Turkey, Iran, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

It also drew criticism from the Syrian regime's ally Russia, which warned of a "new wave" of tensions in the Middle East.

The UN Security Council is scheduled to discuss the Golan on Wednesday during a meeting on renewing the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force deployed between Israel and Syria in the Golan, known as UNDOF.

Foes united over 'colonial' move

Trump's decision also had the effect of uniting Washington's Arab allies and their regional nemesis Iran in condemnation on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait criticised Monday's move to recognise Israel's 1981 annexation and said the territory was occupied Arab land. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi said it was an impediment to peace.

Iran echoed the comments, describing Trump's decision as unprecedented in this century. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused Trump of "colonialism".

"In a point of time when colonialism ruled, some colonialist powers did such things and bestowed parts of one country to another, but this is unprecedented in the present century," Rouhani said, according to the official government website.

"Nobody could have believed that a man would come in America and unilaterally and against all international laws and regulations give away a land belonging to one country to an aggressor," Rouhani said in a meeting with advisors and ministers.

The European members of the United Nations Security Council - France, Britain, Germany, Belgium and Poland - said they did not recognise Israel's sovereignty over the territories it has occupied since June 1967, including the Golan Heights.

"We raise our strong concerns about broader consequences of recognising illegal annexation and also about the broader regional consequences," they said on Tuesday.

"It will have significant negative effects on the peace process in the Middle East and the security and stability of the region," said a statement on Saudi state news agency SPA.

It described the declaration as a clear violation of the UN Charter and of international law.

Trump senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner visited the Gulf Arab region last month to seek support for the economic portion of a long-awaited peace proposal for the Middle East. Gulf Arab states host US troops and are important for Washington's regional defence policy.

Qatar, which has been at loggerheads with other Gulf states over its policies, joined them in rejecting Trump's move and called on Israel to end its occupation of the Golan Heights and comply with international resolutions.

Lebanon said the decision contravened international law.

"The world is witnessing a black day," Lebanese President Michel Aoun wrote on Twitter during a visit to Russia.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, a key Damascus ally, said the move was evidence of US "disdain and disregard" for the Arab and Muslim world and of international law.

"This absolute supporter of Israel cannot be a sponsor of the peace process and here he is today dealing a deadly blow to the so-called peace process," Nasrallah said in a televised speech.

Nasrallah said Trump had been emboldened by Arab "silence" after US recognition last year of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and warned that the West Bank, also captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, could be next.