US President Donald Trump signed today a presidential declaration recognizing Washington's "sovereignty" over the occupied Syrian Golan after a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who thanked Trump as Israel's best friend.
The US president said any future peace deal must preserve "Israel's right to defend itself from any threats," either from Syria or Iran, adding that the alliance between Washington and Tel Aviv "is unbreakable, never stronger than it is now" .
For his part, Netanyahu highly praised Trump's move and said that the latter "carried out all his commitments, either by withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear agreement or by imposing severe sanctions on Tehran, or by recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and now Israel's sovereignty over the Golan."
The prime minister of Israel, who shortened his visit to the United States over a missile attack on northern Tel Aviv, said the "bold" US announcement on the Golan comes at a time when Iran is trying to set up bases in Syria to target Israel.
He pointed out that Tel Aviv took control of the Golan Heights to ensure its security and to repel any attacks from Syria, that this high plateau "proved in 1973 that it is able to absorb the attack launched against us today."
According to international law, the Golan Heights are Syrian territory occupied by Israel by military force on June 5, 1967.