Now it is official: U.S. maps will now be drawn to reflect President Trump’s recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel.
A State Department official said in an interview with Voice of America that future maps would be “consistent” with the president’s decision that was signed into law last Monday. Until now, the State Department’s official maps labeled the Golan Heights as “Israeli-occupied,” according to the VOA report. U.S. Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, said the government would release them “as soon as they are ready.”
After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel’s Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 21, 2019
Israel suffered from artillery attacks targeting civilian settlements in the Galilee region for years along with Syrian-aided attacks by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). The decision to conquer the Golan came after Syria began instituting a plan to divert most of the water flowing into the Sea of Galilee, denying Israel a major water source in contravention of international agreements. Israel conquered the Golan in the 1967 Six-Day War. During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Syrian forces overran much of the southern Golan, before being pushed back by an Israeli counterattack. Israel and Syria signed a ceasefire agreement in 1974 that left almost all the Heights in Israeli hands. In1981, Israel passed the Golan Heights Law, effectively annexing the Golan Heights.
Source: Israel in the News
