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Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told the UN General Assembly that peace with Israel is possible but insisted the Golan Heights 'will remain Syrian territory forever,' demanding an Israeli withdrawal from border buffer zones and asserting Israel has carried out roughly 500 air strikes and over 1,200 incursions into Syria since Assad's fall. Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz and Israel's UN envoy, immediately rejected this, reasserting that the Golan is an 'inseparable' and 'eternal' part of Israel; Netanyahu called al-Sharaa's broader UN remarks on the West Bank 'grotesque.' The exchange came as EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen affirmed the EU would be a 'reliable partner' for Syria's post-war transition, highlighting a broader diplomatic contest over Syria's reintegration into the international community even as tensions with Israel over occupied territory remain unresolved.