US, Israel 'Offer Handshakes' to Steal Your Lands, Iranian FM Warns Arab States

US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and formally annexed in 1981, as a part of Israeli territory has drawn much criticism from around the globe.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Friday that Tehran would resist President Donald Trump's recognition of Israel's control over the Golan Heights, adding that the decision is "trampling on international regulations about" the region.

READ MORE: Lavrov Blasts Trump's Recognition of Israel's Sovereignty Over Golan Heights

Rouhani's comment came just a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif took to Twitter to call for unity in the Muslim world following US President Donald Trump's "lawless" recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights.

Trump’s lawless announcement on "Occupied Syrian Golan" after last year’s on "Occupied Al-Quds" is a sobering reminder for our Arab and Muslim brethren: US & Israel will offer you handshakes, but no matter how much you kowtow, they will still steal your lands. #LetUsUnite pic.twitter.com/f6zHx36R2Z

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) 28 марта 2019 г.

On Monday, Trump signed a presidential proclamation unilaterally recognising the contested territory as Israeli, sparking condemnation from the international community.

READ MORE: Gift to Bibi or Blow to Syria? Possible Motives Behind US Golan Heights Decision

Syria's UN Ambassador Bashar Jaafari rebuked Trump over the move, saying that the United States has plenty of its own lands to give to Israel instead of other country’s territories.

“You can give them North and South Carolina, for example, why not? South Carolina is a great piece of land… So, give Israel a couple of states if this administration really wants to have Israeli support”, Jaafari said.

A number of countries have accused the United States of violating international law by recognising the Golan as a part of Israel and warned that the decision would undermine the peace process in the Middle East.

Shortly after the announcement, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that the US statement "does not change anything in the status of the Golan Heights", and that the territory occupied by Israel belongs to Syria.

The Golan Heights, a strategically important area, were seized by Israel from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967, but it was only fourteen years later that the Israeli Knesset unilaterally proclaimed sovereignty over the territory. However, the UN Security Council declared that the motion was "null and void and without international legal effect".

In 2018, the UN General Assembly also adopted a resolution calling on Israel to immediately withdraw its forces from the region after the country staged local elections in the area on 30 October.