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by Barney Breen-Portnoy
An old military vehicle positioned on the Israeli side of the border with Syria, near the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, Feb. 11, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Ammar Awad.
In another act of diplomacy by tweet, US President Donald Trump called on Thursday for American recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
“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!” Trump tweeted.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly replied, also via Twitter, saying, “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!”
Israel took control of the basaltic plateau from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967, and annexed it in 1981 — a step not recognized internationally.
In ultimately fruitless peace talks held by Israel and Syria in the 1990s and 2000s, the return of the Golan was the Assad regime’s main demand.
A number of Israeli political figures — including Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid in an interview with The Algemeiner last year — have been pushing for US recognition, and just last month Republican Congress members introduced companion bills in the Senate and House of Representatives urging such a move.
Trump’s tweet came as his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, visited Jerusalem, where he met with Netanyahu and toured the Western Wall.
