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Middle East conflict

Syria advocates for end to Israeli aggression, occupation — agency

Foreign Minister of the Syrian interim government Asaad Al-Sheibani drew the attention of his colleagues to Israel's intervention in southern Syria, particularly in the Druze-populated province of Suwayda

BEIRUT, August 25. /TASS/. Syria stands with fellow Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members in demanding a full stop to Israeli aggression and an end to its occupation, Foreign Minister of the Syrian interim government Asaad al-Sheibani said, according to SANA news agency.

"Syria condemns the criminal war against the Palestinians from a moral, humane, religious and historical point of view," the foreign minister said at an OIC extraordinary meeting on Gaza held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

"The occupation and aggression by Israel cannot continue indefinitely, this expansionist policy [of the Jewish state] must be stopped."

Al-Sheibani drew the attention of his colleagues to Israel's intervention in southern Syria, particularly in the Druze-populated province of Suwayda. According to him, Tel Aviv violated the 1974 agreement on separation of Syrian and Israeli troops.

"The Israeli occupation regime is trampling on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian state by deploying intelligence posts and checkpoints," he said. "The aim of Israel's actions is to undermine national unity and provoke sectarian strife, turning the occupied Syrian Golan Heights into a springboard for the seizure of new Arab territories."

The Syrian minister called on Islamic countries to "take a united, honest and courageous stand" to confront the devastating Israeli war in Gaza and lift the siege.

"We also call on our brothers in the OIC to support Syria's position in international forums and reject any attempts to legitimize the Israeli occupation imposed by force to the detriment of Syria's sovereignty," al-Sheibani said.

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