“This decision is a new stage in Israel’s goal of expanding its borders through occupation,” the foreign ministry said in a statement condemning the move.

Israel’s government yesterday approved a plan to double the population of the annexed Golan Heights, just days after its troops seized a UN-monitored buffer zone bordering Syria as rebel forces moved on Damascus.

“This step by Israel is a source of grave concern, taken together with Israel’s entry into the area of separation in violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, its advance into adjacent areas and air strikes in Syria,” Ankara said, warning the move would “seriously undermine” efforts to bring stability to Syria after Bashar al-Assad’s ouster.

The Golan Heights is a mountainous plateau at Syria’s southwestern edge, most of which was captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed.

It is separated from the Syrian side by the UN-patrolled buffer zone.

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar said the move was a “limited and temporary step” for “security reasons”.