WASHINGTON, March 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) – US President Donald Trump on Monday signed a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a border area seized from Syria in 1967.
“This was a long time in the making,” Trump said alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House. US recognition for Israeli control over the territory breaks with decades of international consensus.
Netanyahu called the recognition “historic” and said the Golan Heights, which are still claimed by Syria, would remain permanently under Israeli control. “We shall never give it up,” he said.
“Your proclamation comes at a time when Golan is more important than ever for our security,” he said.
With Netanyahu looking over his shoulder at the White House, Trump signed the proclamation officially granting U.S. recognition of the Golan as Israeli territory – a dramatic shift from decades of U.S. policy.
The move, which Trump announced in a tweet last Thursday, appeared to be the most overt gesture by the Republican president to help Netanyahu, who had been pressing Trump for the move since February 2017.
Israel captured the Golan in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally.
Netanyahu, who faces an election on April 9, earlier on Monday said he was cutting short his U.S. visit after a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, blamed on Hamas, wounded seven people near Tel Aviv. Israel launched retaliatory air strikes in Gaza.
Israel’s prime minister arrived in Washington on Sunday, originally for a four-day trip. — NNN-AGENCIES