Directly addressing Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Netanyahu rejected Syria's ongoing sovereignty claims over the disputed territory, stating, "Mr. al-Sharaa, you should know that Jews have been in the Golan Heights since the days of Moses. You can read about it in the Bible." His remarks came in response to President al-Sharaa's earlier speech at the assembly, where the Syrian leader condemned Israel's continued military occupation and demanded the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from the plateau. The Golan Heights, a strategically elevated plateau belonging to Syria, was occupied by Israel following the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and unilaterally annexed in 1981—a move rejected by international law and UN Security Council Resolution 497.