Israel seeking to 'expand borders' through Golan plan: Turkey

Israel's controversial plan to double Golan Heights population condemned by Turkey as border expansion.

Turkey on Monday (December 16, 2024) denounced an Israeli plan to double the population living in the occupied and annexed Golan Heights as a bid to "expand its borders".

"This decision is a new stage in Israel's goal of expanding its borders through occupation," the foreign ministry said in a statement condemning the move.

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.

"This step by Israel is a source of grave concern, taken together with Israel's entry into the area of separation in violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, its advance into adjacent areas and airstrikes in Syria," it said, warning the move would "seriously undermine" efforts to bring stability to Syria after Bashar al-Assad's ouster.

The Golan Heights is a mountainous plateau at Syria's southwestern edge, most of which was captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed.

It is separated from the Syrian side by the UN-patrolled buffer zone.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said the move was a "limited and temporary step" for "security reasons".