Syrian President Bashar Assad
warned on Monday that if the Golan Heights are not returned peacefully – Syria
will turn to resistance. Speaking at an economic forum of the Organization of Islamic Conference in Istanbul, Assad said, "The failure of negotiations towards the full restoration of rights automatically means resistance is the alternative solution."
According to Assad, "Resisting the occupation is a national duty. It is our legitimate and moral obligation to support it, and it is an honor that we take pride in. This does not contradict the constant desire to achieve a just and inclusive peace on the basis of the restoration of the occupied lands, starting with the occupied Syrian Golan."
The Syrian president also criticized the international community's approach towards Israel: "The events have proven that censure lacks any real value if it are not accompanied real steps, starting with applying pressure on Israel
instead of rewarding it, and ending with supporting the original Arab residents' firm position, who face the Israeli occupation with a number of means."
He also slammed Israel for the situation at the Temple Mount
in Jerusalem: "We felt this danger 40 years ago, when the Israelis tried to set fire to the al-Aqsa Mosque. Today these attempts are reoccurring in the most determined way, in an attempt to finally remove the mosque. At the same time, steps are being taken to Judaize Jerusalem by expelling Palestinians from their homes and housing settlers in their place."
Assad said the activity in Jerusalem is organized and accompanied by "daily aggression, collective acts of massacre and the destruction of the infrastructure aimed at pushing the Palestinians to complete despair, to have them immigrate out of Palestine, and this is an attempt to achieve a pure Jewish state."
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