|
|
The U.S. on Friday refuted a report that it “walked back” former President Trump’s Golan sovereignty recognition for Israel and called a report stating otherwise “false.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that Washington acknowledges the safety concerns that Israel has if it had to return the territory it secured during the Six Day War in 1967. The Jerusalem Post pointed out that every country but the U.S. have called on Israel to return the land to Syria.
Forget About It!
Despite the illegality of the occupation, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid declared “The Golan Heights is this strategic asset and an integral part of the Sovereign State of Israel,” He said “The U.S. has recognized our sovereignty over the Golan Heights and its strategic importance to Israel security. Anyone who spreads rumors about the revocation of this recognition harms [Israel’s] security, harms the declaration of sovereignty.”
Lapid has said anyone who says otherwise has ulterior motives and is just trying to fracture the relationship between Tel Aviv and Washington.
The State Department tweeted, “The U.S. policy regarding the Golan has not changed, and reports to the contrary are false.”
The Washington Free Beacon on Thursday published a story on its website, “Biden Admin Walks Back US Recognition of Golan Heights as Israeli Territory.”
The Times of Israel reported that Blinken supported Israeli occupation of Golan, but it seemed to hinge on whether or not Syrian President Bashar Assad was still in control of the county. Blinken said if the “situation were to change in Syria, that’s something we’d look at. But we are nowhere near that.”
The comments were made in February and were picked up by the Free Beacon. The report caused an immediate stir in Israel. Omer Barlev, the public security minister, tweeted, “The Golan Heights became no more Israeli because of Trump’s decision, and it will not become less Israeli if the decision is now revoked.”
TRENDPOST: In 2019, Donald Trump signed an executive order that recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The Middle East Eye reported that Trump faced some backlash because international law states no land should be acquired by force.
It should also be noted, as stated by The Jerusalem Post, every country but the U.S. have called on Israel to return the land to Syria.
We note this because if it was either Russia or China supporting illegal occupations in a foreign nation they supported, Washington and the mainstream media would attack the lawlessness of such actions.