Turkey to Take US Golan Declaration to UN as Trump Prepares to Sign Decree

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be at the White House on Monday to watch Trump formally sign the decree that will see the US reverse 50+ years of policy, and recognize the Israeli occupation and annexation of the Golan Heights, legally part of Syria.

This decree formalizes an announcement Trump made via Twitter last week, and is seen as primarily boosting Netanyahu’s reelection chances, while having little significance internationally. Israel had no intention of ending the occupation of Golan, and the US recognition is being panned abroad.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took it a step farther Sunday, announcing that he intends to take the matter to the United Nations in the future, assuring that Trump’s statement does not  legitimize the occupation of Golan.

Within Israel, Trump’s statement may inform policy, in as much as it suggests an American imprimatur to go even further with its treatment of occupied territory. A new poll suggests growing support, even from two-state-solution proponents of an Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank.

This would’ve been unthinkable a week ago, as it would be seen as a stab against Trump’s peace plan. At this point, however, with Pompeo suggesting God may have sent Trump specifically to benefit Israel, it appears that anything is possible for a far-right Israeli government to get away with.