BEIRUT (AP) – President Donald Trump’s move to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights turns the tables on decades of U. S. diplomacy…
BEIRUT (AP) – President Donald Trump’s move to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights turns the tables on decades of U. S. diplomacy and international law and threatens to further inflame regional tensions.
It is unlikely, though, to have much impact on the actual status of the territory, where Israel acts with full military control despite the lack of international recognition for its annexation 38 years ago.
A look at the Golan Heights:
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WHAT IS ITS POLITICAL AND STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE?
The Golan Heights is a strategic high ground at the southwestern corner of Syria with stunning, broad views of both Israel and Syria below. It is roughly about 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) and borders the Sea of Galilee. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed it in 1981, a move that was never recognized by any country in the world.
U. N. Security Council resolution 497, issued after the annexation, refers to Israel’s action as “null and void and without international legal effect.”
For then-Syrian President Hafez Assad, the father of current leader Bashar Assad, the loss of the Golan Heights left a gaping wound, and he held various rounds of talks with the Israelis aimed at recovering the territory. The two sides appeared close to a deal in 2000, but disagreement over its fate ultimately foiled the talks.
For Bashar Assad, recovering the territory has been more of a rallying cry than a genuine concern. The civil war in Syria over the past eight years has been the priority and the areas adjacent to the Golan nearly fell to the rebels at one point.
