REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, CAIRO -- Israel's recent claim that a rocky plateau it seized from Syria decades ago would remain as part of the country was rejected by the UN Security Council.

"The Golan Heights will always remain in Israel's hands," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the the first-ever cabinet meeting on the Golan on April 17.

"The time has come after 40 years for the international community to finally recognize that the Golan Heights will remain forever under Israeli sovereignty," Netanyahu declared.

The UN Security Council on Tuesday expressed its "deep concern" at Netanyahu's statements about the Golan, stressing the status of the occupied land on the Syrian border with Israel "remains unchanged."