Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday accused Israel of violating his country’s sovereignty and called for Israeli forces to withdraw from Syrian territory to the lines set under a 1974 disengagement agreement.

Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, al-Sharaa said Israel had carried out nearly 500 air and artillery strikes and more than 1,200 incursions into Syria since the December 2024 upheaval that ousted former president Bashar al-Assad. He said around 300 people had also been detained.

He said Israel’s actions were “reminiscent of an era that we thought was long gone.”

“We are committed to the 1974 agreement. We call for the withdrawal of Israeli forces to the lines of December 8, 2024,” al-Sharaa said.

Tensions between Syria and Israel have remained high since al-Assad’s fall in December 2024.

Israel has since expanded its military operations in southern Syria and moved forces beyond the previous lines of separation. Damascus has repeatedly demanded an Israeli withdrawal and reaffirmed its commitment to the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement.

The two countries remain formally at war, with the status of the Golan Heights a major point of contention. Israel captured most of the strategic plateau on Syria’s south-western border with Israel in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed it in a move that is not internationally recognized.

Al-Sharaa reiterated Syria’s claim to the Golan Heights.

“We reject the permanent Israeli attempts to impose a fait accompli in Syria,” he said, adding that any measures to annex the Golan were invalid under UN resolutions.

Syria says it is rebuilding

Al-Sharaa, who led the insurgent offensive that toppled al-Assad, also used his second address to the UN General Assembly to highlight efforts by his government to rebuild the country following years of war.

“Last year, I said that Syria had returned. Today, I say that Syria is rising,” he said.

He said Syria had begun a process of recovery, including efforts to place weapons under state control, unify the country and its armed forces, and address crimes and abuses committed during the civil war. He also cited efforts to establish the fate of people who remain missing.

“Wars have taught us that injustice does not last, and the victory of our people was a victory for the world,” al-Sharaa said.