Al-Sharaa demands Israeli withdrawal from occupied Golan Heights

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Syrian territory during an address, according to a report from Al Jazeera, reiterating that the occupied Golan Heights will "remain Syrian territory."

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war and later annexed the territory in 1981, a move the United Nations Security Council has not recognized. The United States formally recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019, and a small number of other countries have since taken similar positions, though most of the international community continues to view it as occupied Syrian land.

Al-Sharaa's demand comes as Syria's new leadership, which took power after the fall of the Assad government, seeks to reassert the country's territorial claims on the international stage while also managing relations with Israel and Western powers.

Israel has maintained a military presence in parts of southern Syria near the Golan Heights buffer zone in the period since the change of government in Damascus, citing security concerns tied to the instability that followed the transition.

Al Jazeera's report did not specify further details of the venue or the remainder of al-Sharaa's remarks.