The Israeli Defense Minister insists that the Golan will remain under Israeli sovereignty forever, and the mayor of Ankara resigns from the Turkish Republican People’s Party

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz vowed today (Wednesday) that the Golan will remain under the sovereignty of the Hebrew state “forever,” in response to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s assertion before the United Nations General Assembly that this land remains Syrian.

Katz said: “My clear response to the Syrian president, who made resonant statements from the United Nations podium: The Golan, under Israeli sovereignty, is an integral part of the State of Israel forever.”

Al-Sharaa pledged before the United Nations General Assembly that the Golan, parts of which Israel annexed and occupied others, would remain Syrian territory.

Al-Sharaa said in his speech: “No fait accompli attempts can affect the legitimacy of our state, the rule of our law, and the enforcement of international law, as the Golan will remain Syrian territory.”

He stressed that “all annexation procedures are invalid and nullified by the force of Security Council Resolution 497” issued in 1981, which considered the Hebrew state’s decision to annex lands in the Syrian plateau null and void.

Israel occupied parts of the Golan Heights in the June 1967 war, and announced its annexation in 1981. After the United States was for years the only country in the world to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, Colombia joined it last August.

After the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israeli forces penetrated outside the buffer zone adjacent to the Golan Heights, reaching Mount Hermon separating Lebanon and Syria, and announced their intention to establish a demilitarized zone in southern Syria. Israeli officials reiterate that their forces do not intend to withdraw from the area.

Since then, the Hebrew state has launched hundreds of raids on Syria, focused on military targets, and said that their aim was to prevent the new authorities from seizing the former army’s arsenal.

The Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Laiter, announced that his son is the soldier who was injured in a car-ramming attack that occurred today (Wednesday) in the occupied West Bank, according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.

“Neria needs a miracle,” Leiter said on the “X” platform. Neria continued to serve in the reserve forces after the loss of his older brother, Moshe Yedidia Laiter, who was killed during the fighting in the Gaza Strip in November 2023.

For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on the “X” platform: “My wife Sarah and I, along with all the people of Israel, are praying for a miracle.”

The Israeli soldier was injured, on Wednesday, in a car ramming attack on a military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank, while the Israeli forces killed the perpetrator, according to what the police in the Hebrew state announced.

The Israeli police said that the attacker rushed his car towards a vehicle that contained a policewoman and a soldier, near the Beit Horon settlement, west of the city of Ramallah, according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.

She added in a statement: “As a result, the soldier was injured and is currently receiving medical treatment. The attacker was killed by forces’ fire.”

The Israeli ambulance service, Magen David Adom, reported that its teams evacuated a man in serious condition to the hospital.

For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that it had been informed “of the martyrdom of the young man, Mahmoud Muhammad Mahmoud Suleiman (29 years old), by occupation bullets near the village of Beit Ur al-Tahta, west of Ramallah, and that his body was detained.”

Violence has escalated in the West Bank, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, since the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

Last Sunday, an Israeli settler was shot dead near Ramallah, and the army said it arrested the suspect who carried out the attack. On the same day, the army announced the killing of a Palestinian who tried to run over its soldiers with a car near Jenin.

At least 1,111 Palestinians, including a number of militants, have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since the outbreak of the Gaza war, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on data from the Palestinian Authority.

On the other hand, official Israeli data shows that at least 49 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, were killed in attacks carried out by Palestinians or during confrontations with Israeli forces.

The opposition Republican People's Party in Türkiye received a new strong blow when the mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavaş, announced his resignation from him and would continue his work as mayor independently.

Yavaş stressed that his decision to resign from the party was not taken out of anger or resentment, pointing out that the developments that began on March 19, 2025, in reference to the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, the former presidential candidate for the Republican People’s Party, Ekrem Imamoglu, who recently resigned and joined the “New Party” headed by Ozgur Ozil, and the political and legal discussions that followed, including the issue of “absolute invalidity” of the conference. The 38th year of the Republican People’s Party, which was held in November 2023, brought the political scene in Türkiye to “a crossroads that we all followed with sadness.”

Loyalty to voters

Yavash confirmed, in a statement on his “X” account, on Wednesday, that he had never committed any behavior that would offend the Republican People’s Party or cause embarrassment to those who elected him, and that the great support he received in Ankara, nationwide opinion polls, and the support shown by citizens of various political orientations... are all clear evidence of that.

He said, “There is a very important fact; It is that when unity cannot be achieved at the highest levels of politics, the people can achieve it at the grassroots level if they wish to do so, and I have always said that if power in Turkey must be changed through democratic means, the way to do so is not by exhausting the opposition from each other, but rather by uniting on common principles.

He added: “So; I have repeatedly stressed that the discussions that have been ongoing for months, especially those related to the issue of absolute invalidity, may lead to a deep division within the Republican People’s Party, and that this will not only harm the party, but will also harm the hope of democracy in Turkey.

He continued: “I still do not find it right to ignore the will of the voters and transfer the positions they won with their votes to political parties that the voters do not approve of... Our citizens’ trust in politics and politicians has been severely damaged. We must bear the responsibility for this, not the voters; Because when people go to the polls, they are not voting just for a name, but for a political will... Loyalty to the will of the voters is the honor of politics.”

Anger in the “Republican People”

Yavaş implicitly referred to the statement of the spokesman for the Republican People’s Party, Muslim Sari, regarding his resignation from the party, in which he said that “no one is above the institutional identity of the party,” and to the attack on him because of his statement after his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on September 10, that he had informed both Kilicdaroglu and Ozil before the meeting, which was dedicated only to discussing some projects in Ankara, where he said, “No one of our mayors can say that he informed the head of another party.” He changed his party leader about what he was doing.” Sari added, “This is a unilateral political choice, and we wish it success, and this is also the opinion of our president (Kilıçdaroğlu).”

Yawash said: “I have never considered myself above political parties. I consider such a claim to be a form of arrogance... given some of the statements that were issued today. I resign from the Republican People’s Party and announce to the public that I will continue my political career independently, and I will not ignore any of my friends whom I accompanied yesterday because of their political choices today.”

Yavaş joined the Republican People's Party in 2013 from the Nationalist Movement Party, and resigned from it in 2016 due to internal disputes in the party, before returning to it in 2018. He won the mayorship of Ankara twice, in 2019 and 2024, sweeping his rivals from the ruling Justice and Development Party by obtaining about 60 percent of the votes.

Yavash stands out as Erdogan's most prominent competitor for the presidency, and the last opinion poll last August showed his superiority by more than 20 percentage points.

Seven mayors of Ankara announced their resignation from the Republican People's Republic of Turkey following Yavash's resignation, stressing that they would continue with him.

Ozil supports Yawash's decision

For his part, Ozil said, during a press conference at the “New Party” headquarters, that he spoke by phone with Yawash after announcing his decision, and that he congratulated him and wished him success, stressing: “We respect all his decisions and the decisions of the mayors; Because they are elected by the people, and no one can impose a decision on them.”

Yavash expressed his solidarity with Imamoglu since his arrest. He also supported the elected head of the Republican People's Party, Ozgur Ozil, after the decision to temporarily remove him from the party's leadership by a judicial decision. He did not participate in any meetings or meetings held by Kemal Kilicdaroglu after he was returned to the party's leadership temporarily. He did not attend the celebration of the 103rd anniversary of the founding of the party on September 10, nor did he announce his joining the "new party" founded by Ozil.

Ozil said that Yawash stressed, in all his “carefully worded” statements, following the “absolute nullity” decision, the importance of “winning office through the election ballots, objecting to appointments or manipulating politics through court decisions.” Therefore; He stood on the right side of history, and we appreciate him for that. I still maintain my position, which is that his primary responsibility regarding the upcoming process is towards Ankara, and towards those who elected him, without distinction between citizens on the basis of party affiliation.”