Thousands of Syrians have gathered in the streets of different cities to protest against President Donald Trump’s formal recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, according to state media.
The Sana news agency posted photographs of a march in the southern city of Sweida on Tuesday morning.
Men and women carried Syrian and Palestinian flags and banners reading Golan Is Syrian.
Sana said another protest took place in the southern city of Daraa.
Mr Trump formally signed the proclamation alongside Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, reversing more than a half-century of US policy in the Middle East.
The US is the first country to recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan, which the rest of the international community regards as Israeli-occupied.
Ambassadors from the five EU members of the UN security council, France, Germany, Britain, Poland and Belgium, issued a joint statement saying that they do not recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights which Israel occupied in 1967.
They said: “Annexation of territory by force is prohibited under international law”, and any unilateral border changes go against “the rules-based international order and the UN Charter”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here