European Union reaffirms rejection of Israeli sovereignty in Golan Heights

European Union reaffirms rejection of Israeli sovereignty in Golan Heights - http://www.jns.org/news-briefs/2016/4/19/european-union-reaffirms-rejection-of-israeli-sovereignty-in-golan-heights#.VxeOFY-cE2w=

 

Federica Mogherini, the European Union's (EU) foreign policy chief, on Tuesday reaffirmed that the EU does not recognize Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights.

 

"The EU recognizes Israel within its pre-1967 boundaries, regardless of the [Israeli] government's claims on other areas, until a final settlement is reached," Mogherini said before a Brussels-based meeting of international donors who convened to support of the Palestinian economy, AFP reported.

 

"This is a shared position reaffirmed by the European Union and its member states," she added.

 

The EU's statement follows similar comments by the Obama administration, which also said that it does not recognize Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights.

 

"Every administration on both sides of the aisle since 1967 has maintained that those territories are not part of Israel," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday.

 

On Sunday, Israel's cabinet chose to hold its weekly meeting in the Golan Heights in order to affirm the Jewish state's sovereignty in the area.

 

"Israel will never come down from the Golan Heights....In the 49 years Israel has controlled the Golan, it has been a place of peace and prosperity. Israel today is the solution, not the problem," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

 

 

Netanyahu Says Israel Will Never Withdraw from Golan Heights -

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/04/17/netanyahu-says-israel-will-never-withdraw-from-golan-heights/

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday his country will never withdraw from the Golan Heights and the strategic plateau bordering Syria will forever stay in Israeli hands.

 

In a ceremonial Cabinet meeting in the Golan marking the one-year anniversary of his current government's formation, Netanyahu said he doubts Syria will ever return to what it was before the devastating civil war that has gripped it for more than five years. He said he would not oppose diplomatic efforts to stabilize Syria so long as they didn't come at the expense of Israel's security. Netanyahu added that, regardless, the border would not change and it was time for the world to finally recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan.

 

"I chose to have this festive Cabinet meeting on the Golan Heights to send a clear message: The Golan Heights will forever remain in Israeli hands," he said. "It's time, after 50 years, that the international community finally recognizes that the Golan will forever remain under Israeli sovereignty."

 

Israel captured the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in 1981. An Israeli withdrawal was long seen as a key to any Israel-Syria peace agreement. But as Syria began to disintegrate, the odds of Israel giving up the Golan - never a popular prospect among Israelis - have dimmed.

 

Since the aftermath of the 1973 Mideast war, the Golan has been the quietest of Israel's front lines, a place of hiking trails, bird-watching and winery tours. Constantly looming in the background was the prospect of the Golan eventually returning to Syria as part of a peace accord. A plateau that looms over northern Israel, the Golan is considered by Israelis to be vital to their security and, unlike the West Bank, has carried far less political baggage.

 

Israel has largely stayed on the sidelines of the Syrian civil war and refrained from directly intervening. However, Netanyahu last week confirmed for the first time that Israel, as long suspected, had in fact struck a number of advanced weapon shipments from Syria to Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.