On Monday, March 25, the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, signed a document according to which the United States officially recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. These Syrian territories were occupied by Israel more than 50 years ago. However, most countries, as well as the UN, do not recognize them as part of Israel.

The signing ceremony took place at the White House in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said that Trump’s decision allegedly restores “historical justice” and is a “diplomatic victory.” At the same time, the American leader himself noted that bilateral relations between the countries continue to strengthen, but warned that in the future, Washington and Tel Aviv will have to face “the poison of anti-Semitism.”

“Today I am taking a historic step ... Israel took control of the Golan Heights in 1967 to protect itself from threats. Today, he needs to defend himself against Iran and the terrorist groups in Syria, including Hezbollah, which could launch attacks against Israel, ”Trump said.

At the same time, Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would cut his program in Washington and leave the US capital earlier than planned. This is connected with the reports of the Israel Defense Forces that on March 25 a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into a residential building in the settlement of Herut, located a few kilometers northeast of Tel Aviv. As a result, seven people were slightly injured, including three children, they were hospitalized.

At the same time, the media have already reported that the Israeli military has already begun to fire back the Gaza Strip.

The Golan Heights are about 60 km from the Syrian capital, Damascus. Israel occupied this region in southwestern Syria during the Six Day War (from June 5 to 10) in 1967. In 1981, Tel Aviv unilaterally declared its sovereignty over the Golan. This decision was not recognized by the international community. The UN documents of the territory are Syrian and are recognized as occupied by Israel, which is also ordered to withdraw its troops and return to the borders on June 4, 1967, before the start of the Six-Day War.

At the same time, de facto, both states are not divided by the state border, but by the line of separation of forces from the times of the 1967 war, on which the UN peacekeepers should be located. Because of the beginning of the conflict on the territory of the SAR in 2011, the peacekeeping contingent left the Golan, but since August 2018, with the assistance of the Russian military police, the patrols have returned to duty.

"The United States once again ignored international law"

On March 21, 2019, Donald Trump declared that “the time has come” to recognize Jewish sovereignty over the Golan Heights. According to him, this territory is of "strategic importance" for Israel and stability throughout the Middle East. Later, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted that the intentions of the American leader allegedly correspond to the real situation on the ground.

“Of course, this situation is beneficial for Netanyahu: he clearly shows that he is able to defend the independence of Israel and demonstrates that he is able to advance the interests of his country in a number of areas. In addition to Trump, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin - with the leader of a country that plays an important role in the Middle East. It shows that it is an effective political leader, and it benefits him on the eve of the elections to be held on April 9, ”said Dmitry Maryasis, senior researcher at the Israel and Jewish Studies Department of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Washington's decision caused a flurry of indignation in the global community. One of the first to criticize the United States was Russia, Syria and Turkey.

According to the special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the Middle East and African countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, the principled position of Moscow regarding these territories and the assessment of the current situation has not changed.

“Unfortunately, this could lead to a new round of tensions in the Middle East region. Such things, precisely because they are outside the legal
spaces, since they ignore all international developments, Security Council resolutions, can only aggravate the situation, ”explained Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Russian Radio.

The United States has made itself the main enemy of the Arab states. This opinion was expressed by the representative of the Foreign Ministry of Syria. According to him, Washington has committed a blatant attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the SAR.

"President Trump does not have the right and legal rights to legally formalize the occupation and the seizure of foreign territories by force," says the text of the statement by SANA.

  • Israeli military equipment in the Golan Heights
  • AFP
  • © JALAA MAREY

In Damascus, the world community was called upon to condemn the irresponsible policy of the American leader, who by his aggressive actions puts the world and the region in danger.

The recognition of Golan by the Israeli territories from Washington will lead to the aggravation of the situation in the region. This opinion was expressed by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt авavuşoогlu.

“The United States again ignored international law. However, their decision will never legitimize Israeli annexation. This, on the contrary, will undermine efforts for a peaceful settlement in the Middle East and increase tensions in the region, ”the diplomat wrote on Twitter.

Trump’s decision is “insignificant in form and substance,” said the Secretary General of the League of Arab States (LAS), Ahmed Aboul Gheit, in a statement. Washington’s recognition of the Golan Heights as the territory of Israel “reduces the authority of the United States” throughout the world because it violates the 1981 UN Security Council resolution, which states “the unconditional non-recognition of Israel’s annexation of the Syrian Golan”.

“Occupation is a big crime, but an attempt to legitimize this occupation is a no less serious mistake,” said the Arab League official.

We emphasize that the United Nations also indicated that the signing by Trump of the document did not change the official status of the Golan.

“For the Secretary General, it is clear that the status of the Golan has not changed. The UN position on the Golan is reflected in the relevant Security Council resolutions, ”said UN Secretary-General’s spokesman Stefan Dusarrik.

“Washington doesn’t care for the whole world system”

Trump's decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights is dictated by his desire to secure even greater support from the influential Israeli lobby in the US, said Konstantin Blokhin, expert of the Center for Security Studies, RAS. At the same time, he noted that Trump’s statements would have a negative impact on world stability.

“I think that this decision will cause a domino effect and will hit world stability, since almost every state has territorial problems. Americans do not care for the whole world system, go out of agreements, contracts, organizations. For Trump, the world turns into an uncompromising jungle, where every man for himself. A world without rigid norms and morals. This aura of a world policeman has long since vanished, the States are for themselves, before the lamp the world stability and order, which they “created” before, ”said the interlocutor of RT.

In turn, the director of the Franklin Roosevelt Foundation for the Study of the United States (MSU), Yuri Rogulev, recalled that just less than a year ago, Washington had already taken a step that led to an increase in tensions in the region. In May 2018 by the decision of Trump in Jerusalem, the US Embassy, ​​which was transferred from Tel Aviv, opened in Jerusalem. The head of the White House called the incident a "great day," but this led to condemnation by the leaders of Muslim states and mass protests in various parts of the world. Despite this, Romania and Honduras also announced the opening of their diplomatic representation in Jerusalem last week.

According to the expert, Trump once again proved himself a man, far from diplomacy and government policy, who approaches many international issues in his own way - without discussion, without consultation, without preliminary negotiations.

“It seems to me that the current decision will lead to quite serious consequences. It contradicts all legal aspects related to the Middle East. In contrast to the previous administration, when Obama was critical of many Israeli decisions and policies, Trump takes the opposite position, the position of direct support for Israel on all issues, on particularly acute aspects, is not just support, it is contradictory support, I don’t think that it will cause a positive response in the world ", - said the source RT.