DEARBORN — A rally was held inside the Dearborn Civic Center on Sunday, April 7 in defiance of President Trump and newly re-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proclamation that the Golan Heights belongs to Israel, a move that has been denounced by many as being illegal under international law.

Hosted by the local Committee for Golan group, speakers educated a crowd of several dozen people on the geopolitical turmoil in the region, which includes the American and Israeli leaders’ controversial decision.

“That doesn’t mean anything to us,” said Mohammad Abd-Easalam,  head of the Palestine Aid Society of Michigan. “Jerusalem will remain Palestinian and will remain the capital of Palestine, and the Golan Heights will remain Syrian land regardless of whatever Trump has done.”

He spoke under a banner echoing the same message, along with several others including Shekih Mohammed Ali Halabi, The AANews Publisher Osama Siblani and longtime community activist Zouheir Alawieh.

Siblani called the decision a “blatant violation of international law and our own laws.”

Israel captured the Syrian territory following the 1967 war, but its annexation of the Golan Heights was declared an illegal act in 1981. This past March a majority of United Nations Security Council members stressed the importance of upholding the law in the face of Trump’s decision.

Support was also pledged for Palestine, which has been bearing the weight of the oppressive and brutal Israeli occupation for decades.

“Palestine is an Arabic land,” Alawieh said after the event. “Whatever happens, whoever comes to change the truth, the truth is going to be one.

“This land is the land of Palestinians and Jews,” he added. “They can live together, but no one can take the right of the other to take his land.”

His statement was in reference to the ongoing occupation that includes the seizing of Palestinian territories and demolition of homes by Israel, acts declared illegal by international law.

“We need an administration that understands what’s going on in the region and gives everybody his rights,” he said. “This is the only way to have peace, otherwise you have chaos and nobody knows what will be the result.”