The US State Department has rejected yesterday’s demand from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the international community recognize the occupied Golan Heights as “forever” part of Israel, saying that the US position is unchanged, and that Golan is not legally part of Israel.
Israel occupied the Golan Heights in 1967, and reports have suggested previous Israeli governments sought to return the heights to Syria as part of a broader peace deal. Netanyahu opposed this, however, and insists that the illegal 1981 annexation of Golan will never be reversed.
Netanyahu’s comments sparked criticism from several other fronts as well, with Germany’s Foreign Ministry warning the Israeli annexation is a violation of international law and the UN charter, and that states can’t just unilaterally keep one another’s territory.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R – TX) is loudly endorsing the idea, however, insisting that Israel should be allowed to keep the Golan Heights and that it iss “foolhardy and dangerous” to suggest Israel should return the territory to Syria.
Glad to hear that.
“Sen. Ted Cruz (R – TX) is loudly endorsing the idea, however, insisting
that Israel should be allowed to keep the Golan Heights and that it iss
“foolhardy and dangerous” to suggest Israel should return the territory to Syria.”
Externally imposed border changes are what are foolhardy and dangerous, even if the usurping country had a right to conduct war against the loser.
It was a mistake for Germany to keep Alsace-Lorraine after the Franco-Prussian war and it was a mistake for Germany to be dismembered in the Versailles Treaty after they agreed to return it under Wilson’s 14-points plan.
The best solution is one in which Syria voluntarily ‘sells’ part of the Golan Heights to Israel. Israel’s needs are water and security. Just sell Israel that part which surrounds the Sea of Galilee and provide for international peacekeepers in the Heights themselves. US taxpayers would ultimately pay for the ‘sale’ but that’s cheaper than war.
One of the best know rulers of Prussia Frederick the Great held that the Rhine river should be the Western border of Germany. The consequence would have been that then Prussian cities such as Koelln would have become French! Frederick’s proposal was not “for peace” but because he wanted to expand Prussia Eastward into Silesia.
After WW2 there were small border corrections between Germany and the Netherlands all in favor of the Netherlands imposed by the Allies. To the best of my knowledge Germany has never protested even though the UN already existed at the time.
The Palestinians have no need for water?
I’m pretty sure that Syria also wants water and security. Syria is even less likely to sell Israel land than they are to give it away for nothing. In both cases, zero chance.
Once the Syrian government finishes off Al-Qaeda, the country will still be full of highly experienced and well armed pro government militias. Hopefully this won’t lead to low level skirmishes with Israel again. It would be much better to make peace properly.
I’ll gladly give more aid to Israel, but rather than money, and given that Summer weather is here, I’ll volunteer to wear wool trousers and collect the sweat off my as-.