Will US Accept Israel’s Sovereignty Over Golan Heights?

Will the US accept Israel’s sovereignty over Golan Heights? Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that he does not give up the optimism that the US will recognize its sovereignty over Golan Heights, captured from Syria in the 1967 war. 

With the corresponding statement, Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Thursday before his flight to Lithuania, where he is scheduled to hold talks with the leaders of the three Baltic nations. 

“I’ve heard the idea being proposed but there’s no discussion of it, no resolution within the U.S. government,” Bolton told Reuters during a visit to Israel. “Obviously we understand the Israeli claim that it has annexed the Golan Heights – we understand their situation – but there’s no change in the U.S. position for now.”

On Wednesday, John Bolton, after concluding a three-day visit to Israel, told Reuters that the US administration of President Donald Trump did not discuss the possibility of recognizing the Golan Heights as an Israeli territory. Israel Minister for Intelligence and Transport Israel Kats on May 23 in an interview with Reuters said that Israel is negotiating with the US to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan.

The Golan Heights, which belonged to Syria since 1944, was conquered by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1981, the Knesset (Israeli parliament) adopted the “Law on the Golan Heights”, which unilaterally declared the sovereignty of Israel over the captured territory. The annexation was declared invalid by UN Security Council resolution 497 of December 17, 1981.