Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Muallem sent UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon a letter on Monday, in which he appealed for the UN to stop Israel from"stealing water from the occupied Golan Heights".
Al Muallem charged that "Israeli occupation forces diverted the Golan waters to the settlements. By these actions they not only prevent our citizens from fulfilling their natural rights to the resource, but could also lead to an economic and environmental disaster which could have disastrous consequences for Syrians living in the Golan."
The contents of al Muallem's letter were published on SANA, Syria 'sofficial news agency. The letter noted that diverting Golan waters was a "flagrant breach of international law, the Geneva Convention and the decisions of the UN defense committee, which oblige a conquering country to defend the country, citizens, property and water sources of the land it has conquered."
Al Muallem called upon the international community to "take responsibility and prevent Israel from its continued exploitation of natural resources in the occupied territories which include the Syrian Golan Heights."