Amman, Aug. 11 (Petra) -- First Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of Representatives Khamis Atiyeh on Tuesday condemned Colombia's decision to recognize what he called "Israeli sovereignty" over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

In a statement, Atiyeh said the decision did not confer any legitimacy on the Israeli occupation and represented a dangerous alignment with the use of force and the imposition of faits accomplis at the expense of international law and peoples' rights.

"Israel is an occupying power and has no right to the territories it occupies," he said.

Atiyeh said Israel had for decades pursued policies of settlement, displacement, annexation, and land confiscation while committing systematic violations against the Palestinian and Syrian peoples.

"Recognition of the occupation does not change its nature, nor does it turn a violation into an acquired right," he said.

Recognizing what he described as "Israeli sovereignty" over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights would encourage Israel to continue its policy of annexation and imposing faits accomplis by force, Atiyeh said.

He warned against rewarding Israel for its violations or granting it political gains at the expense of people's rights, the principles of international law, and resolutions of international legitimacy.

Atiyeh said Israel was practicing state terrorism in the occupied Palestinian territories through killing, destruction, starvation, and displacement.

He said developments in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were stark evidence of the Israeli government's disregard for international law and its continued pursuit of an expansionist agenda.

Atiyeh called on the international community to adopt a firm position towards the Israeli government, end double standards, and enforce international law and relevant international resolutions without selectivity.

Continued silence over Israeli violations would encourage it to pursue policies of killing, displacement, settlement, and expansion, he said.

//Petra// AF