Syrian foreign ministry calls on Israel to withdraw from country after Netanyahu visits outpost

Syria's foreign ministry strongly condemned on Wednesday a visit made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of the government to an illegal Israeli outpost in Syria.

In a statement, the ministry said, "We affirm that the visit represents a new attempt to impose a de facto situation that contradicts relevant UN Security Council resolutions and falls within the occupation’s policies aimed at consolidating its aggression and continuing its violations of Syrian territory.” 

The ministry reiterated a call for Israel to withdraw from Syria, and then asked for the international community to follow its mandate to pressure Israel to follow international law.

“We call on the international community to assume its responsibilities, deter the occupation’s practices and compel it to fully withdraw from southern Syria and return to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement,” the statement added.