Trump roils West Asia with Golan Heights policy shift
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s tweet supporting Israel’s claim of sovereignty over the Golan Heights - which it had seized from Syria in 1967 doesn’t change anything on the ground. But it has sparked quite a buzz, drawing condemnation from major players in the region.
On Thursday, Trump tweeted, “After 52 years, it is time for the US to fully recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and regional stability!”
With his controversial remark, Trump has further muddied the waters of the West Asia peace process. Syria has strongly protested and vowed to recover the lost territory “by all available means”.
Syria’s allies Russia and Iran have also condemned Trump’s announcement. Even key allies of the US - the European Union and Turkey, for instance - have slammed Trump for the remark, asserting that the Golan Heights will continue to be treated as occupied territory.
Trump’s tweet, which seeks to reverse decades-old US policy of treating the Golan Heights as occupied territory, is also being widely seen as a political gift to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who will seek re-election in the April 9 polls.
Trump and Netanyahu have been firm supporters of each other, and the tweet is being seen by many as an attempt to boost the Israeli leader’s chances amid corruption allegations.
Trump, however, has denied that his new stance has anything to do with the Israeli election.
“I’ve been thinking about doing that for a long time,” he told Fox News in an interview on Friday. “Every president has said ‘do that’. I’m the one that gets it done.”