Trump recognises Golan Heights as Israeli territory

Donald Trump says that the US will recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which was captured from Syria in 1967.

Israel effectively annexed the Golan in 1981 in a move not recognised internationally. Syria has sought to regain the region. Previous White House administrations have regarded Golan Heights as occupied Syrian territory, in line with United Nations security council resolutions.

But in a contentious move that reverses decades of US policy, the US president announced the shift in approach on Twitter. He wrote: “After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!”

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted his gratitude for Trump’s gesture, writing: “At a time when Iran seeks to use Syria as a platform to destroy Israel, President Trump boldly recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Thank you President Trump!”

The Guardian says the “dramatic” move is “likely to bolster [Israeli PM] Benjamin Netanyahu’s hopes to win re-election”, Israeli newspaper Haaretz says Trump’s move “also looks like an American response to the Russian alliance with Iran in Syria”, while The Times points out that Netanyahu and Trump are “old friends” with an acquaintance going back to the mid-1980s.

International opposition to Trump’s move is likely to be strong. Robert Malley, a former Middle East adviser to Barack Obama and now head of the International Crisis Group, described it as “intensely political” and “in disregard of international law”.

Richard Haass, a former senior State Department official who is president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said the policy shift violates UN Security Council resolution 242, “which rules out acquiring territory by war and serves Israel as it says all states have right (to) live in peace”.

In 2017, Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital and ordered the relocation of the US embassy to the city from Tel Aviv. In a recent state department report, his administration changed its description of the West Bank and Gaza from “occupied territories” to “Israeli-controlled territories”.