A report on Thursday that the Biden administration is considering a reversal of former President Donald Trump's historic decision to recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli has sparked political storm in Israel.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The Washington Free Beacon reported that the Biden administration was "walking back" a Trump administration decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, quoting a lone diplomatic official and providing little concrete information or context.
In March 2019, then-US President Donald Trump signed a historic proclamation on Monday recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Standing alongside then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Trump made formal a move he had announced in a surprise tweet a week earlier.
Trump said it was time for the US to take the step after 52 years of Israeli control of the strategic highlands on the border with Syria. The US was the first country to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan, which the rest of the international community regards as Israeli-occupied.
One high-ranking Israeli diplomatic official said Friday in response to the Washington Free Beacon report that "The issue of the Golan Heights hasn't come up in talks with the Americans. It's obvious that the Golan Heights will remain under Israeli sovereignty forever."
Yamina MK Amichai Chikli said in a Twitter pose that he wanted to "congratulate" Foreign Minister Yair Lapid for a "series of groundbreaking achievements in his first week: a cancellation of American recognition of the Golan Heights, a transition to a policy of zero surprises with the US and a dangerous condemnation of China."
Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev wrote, "The Golan Heights did not become more Israeli because of the Trump decision – and will not be less Israeli if the decision is cancelled now."
In February, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped short of endorsing the Trump administration's recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel, instead noting that the territory was important for Israel's security.
Speaking with Wolf Blitzer of CNN's The Situation Room, Blinken was asked if the Biden administration would "continue to see the Golan Heights as part of Israel," to which he replied, "Leaving aside the legalities of that question, as a practical matter, the Golan is very important to Israel's security.
"As long as Assad is in power in Syria, as long as Iran is present in Syria, militia groups backed by Iran, the Assad regime itself – all of these pose a significant security threat to Israel, and as a practical matter, the control of the Golan in that situation I think remains of real importance to Israel's security.
"Legal questions are something else. And over time, if the situation were to change in Syria, that's something we'd look at. But we are nowhere near as that," Washington's top diplomat said.
Syria and neighboring Lebanon denounced the move, and at least two NATO members, Canada and Turkey, said they would not follow suit.
Trump said his decision would cement the Jewish state's ability to defend itself from regional threats should a broad Arab-Israeli peace deal ever be reached.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
