Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not take long to respond to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's remarks regarding the administration's refusal to recognize Trump's acknowledgment of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.
Netanyahu stated that the Golan Heights was and will remain part of the State of Israel, in response to Blinken's statements on the matter. Haaretz reported today that Netanyahu confirmed during a visit to the village of Zarzir, encouraging Arab citizens to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, that Israel will not withdraw from the Golan Heights, whether through a political settlement or without one. He questioned, "Why should we return it to Syria? Should we restore the Golan to a situation where mass murder is a threat?"
Former U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan in 2019, marking a significant shift from U.S. policy that had been in place for decades. However, Secretary Blinken refrained from acknowledging this recognition, instead highlighting the region's importance for Israel's security.
Israel occupied the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981, a move that is not recognized internationally.
Notably, Dr. Fares Al-Salmo Al-Taie, Secretary-General of the Global Organization for Peace and the Building of Humanity and Nations, emphasized that if the Israelis truly sought peace for their citizens and wished to coexist with the peoples and countries of the Middle East, they must seriously commit to the decisions of the Security Council and the United Nations Charter. Al-Taie added that initiatives should come from the Israeli government itself, not from the United States, and that there should be serious efforts to achieve peace by restoring rights to the Palestinian people and returning the occupied Syrian lands to their rightful owners.
The Secretary-General highlighted the organization's work to implement the United Nations Charter globally and to promote relevant Security Council resolutions. He pointed out the organization's relationships with the United Nations, the Security Council, and other international organizations, through which rights are restored, and citizens' freedoms in their countries are guaranteed.
Dr. Al-Taie reaffirmed that the people of the Golan are committed to their Syrian identity and raise the Syrian flag, noting that the Golan is Syrian according to international resolutions, and calling on the United States to transparently address the issues at hand and grant the citizens of the Golan the right to return to the embrace of the Syrian Arab Republic.
