Saudi Arabia calls Israeli Golan plan ‘sabotage’ of Syria

Saudi Arabia on Sunday condemned as “sabotage” of Syria an Israeli plan to double the population of the occupied and annexed Golan Heights.

In a statement, the Saudi foreign ministry expressed “condemnation and denunciation” of the plan, which it called part of “continued sabotage of opportunities to restore security and stability in Syria” after opposition forces overthrew Bashar al-Assad one week ago.

“The Kingdom renews its call to the international community to condemn these Israeli violations, stressing the need to respect Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement said, adding that “the Golan is an occupied Syrian Arab land.”

Israel agreed on Sunday to double its population on the occupied Golan Heights.

“Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

Israel captured most of the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, annexing it in 1981.

Netanyahu’s office said the government unanimously approved a more than 40-million-shekel ($11 million) plan to encourage demographic growth in the Golan.

It said Netanyahu submitted the plan to the government “in light of the war and the new front facing Syria, and out of a desire to double the population of the Golan.”