US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman expects the Golan Heights to remain under Israeli control “forever,” according to an excerpt released Thursday of an interview he gave to an Israeli newspaper.
Israel seized most of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1Six Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community.
“I cannot honestly imagine a situation in which the Golan Heights is not part of Israel forever,” Friedman tells Israel Hayom, which is set to publish the full interview on Friday.
“I cannot imagine a situation in which the Golan Heights is returned to Syria,” he adds.
“Giving up the high area of the Golan Heights may put Israel at great security disadvantage, and it is unnecessary to say that I cannot think of anyone more unworthy of receiving such a prize than Assad,” he says, referring to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Friedman even mentions the possibility of the US officially recognizing the Golan as Israeli territory.
During a visit to Israel in August, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said there were no discussions on such recognition.
— AFP
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman in Jerusalem on August 22, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
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