PLO slams Trump's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights

RAMALLAH, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Secretary General of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat Tuesday said that U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights "does not create a right or bring a commitment."

"The American decision is paving the way for a new era that is beyond international law, as it is replacing the principle of illegality of occupying other territory by force, by the principle of allowing the occupation by force and transforming the power of logic and law to the logic of power and injustice," Erekat said in a statement.

The Palestinian official urged the international community to confront those policies and practices "before international relations are transformed to laws of the jungle."

On Monday, Trump officially recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, seized from Syria in 1967, in a move hailed as "historic" by Israel's prime minister, during a joint press conference.

Israel seized the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in the 1980s, in a move never recognized by the international community.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry described the U.S. move as "blatant coup by the U.S. administration over policies of past administrations and a flagrant aggression against Arab rights, international legitimacy and its resolutions."