Jordan condemns Israeli plan to expand settlements in occupied Golan Heights

AMMAN — Jordan on Monday condemned the Israeli government's approval of a plan to expand settlements in the occupied Golan Heights, describing the move as a "reinforcement of the occupation and a blatant violation of international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions."

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Sufian Qudah stressed the importance of preserving Syria's unity and territorial integrity, according to a ministry statement.  

Qudah reiterated that the Golan Heights is an occupied Syrian Arab land, stressing the importance of ending the occupation.

He also said that all unilateral Israeli measures that aim at creating new facts on the ground require a clear international stance that condemns such measures and compel Israel, as an occupying power, to abide by the principles of the international law.

Israel's government on Sunday approved a plan to double the population of the annexed Golan Heights, just days after its troops seized a UN-monitored buffer zone bordering Syria as rebel forces moved on Damascus.

The Golan Heights is a mountainous plateau at Syria's southwestern edge, most of which was captured by Israel during the June War of 1967 and later annexed.
It is separated from the Syrian side by the UN-patrolled buffer zone.