The Golan Heights has long been a disputed area since Israel captured it from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981 in a move not internationally recognized. For years it has been the topic of debate in the so-called “Land For Peace” negotiations between Israel and its Arab partners with Israel maintaining that the area is crucial to its security. This is now more evident than ever before, as Iran is trying to establish bases in Syria to attack Israel.
However, the Trump administration has now officially recognised Israeli sovereignity over the territory and the President has made clear warnings about Iranian aggression. Today’s presidential proclamation follows USA’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish State last year and the US embassy’s subsequent move to Jerusalem. Watch the Fox News press conference below as President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu address the media.
“The unbreakable alliance between the USA and Israel has never been stronger,” says President Trump. “We have defeated the Caliphate in Syria; withdrawn from the Iran Nuclear Deal and imposed the toughest sanctions against the Iranian Regime.
“We will not avert our eyes from the dictatorship that chants ‘Death to America, death to Israel’ and calls for genocide against the Jewish people. We will confront the poison of Anti-Semitism through both our words and more importantly our actions.”
A Historic Day and a Two-fold Act of Justice
“This is truly a historic day,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said. “For two decades (1948-1967) Syria rained deadly fire from the Golan Heights on Israeli citizens below. A generation of Israeli children lived in constant danger. Israel seized the high ground which has proven to be invaluable to our defence especially in 1973 when Syria attacked Israel. While Israel won these two wars we would have to wait half a century until this moment to translate our military victory to a diplomatic victory.”
The Prime Minister said that the President’s proclamation was “a two-fold act of justice.” This is because Israel has won the war of self defence and the roots of the Jewish People in the Golan Heights go back thousands of years.
He also acknowledged that in the long history of the Jewish people there have been a number of proclamations from gentile leaders that have made a major impact, from King Cyrus the Great to Lord Balfour to US President Truman and now Donald J Trump – not once but twice.