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"After 52 years, it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is critically important strategically and in terms of security for the state of Israel." Israel and regional stability, "Trump told Twitter.
The announcement offers Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a major foreign policy victory, less than three weeks before the Israelis go to the polls to decide whether to stay in power. This decision comes just days before Netanyahu joins Trump at the White House. It follows weeks in which Netanyahu renewed his demand for the United States to recognize the Golan Heights as part of Israel.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six Day War of 1967 and formally annexed the territory in 1981. But this annexation was not recognized by the international community, which considered the heights of the Golan as a occupied territory and illegal Israeli settlements. in international law.
Trump enjoys an unprecedented popularity rating in Israel, and its close-to-election Netanyahu membership, coupled with long-sought recognition, could impact the Israeli election results.
Netanyahu quickly thanked Trump on Twitter. "As Iran seeks to use Syria as a platform to destroy Israel, President Trump boldly recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Thank you, President Trump! @RealDonaldTrump."
In a brief phone call between the two leaders, Netanyahu told Trump: "You wrote the story," according to an excerpt from the call provided by the Prime Minister's Office.
It was not clear whether the White House would release additional information or details on the decision to recognize the Golan Heights as part of Israel beyond Trump's tweet.
Former US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, who served under President Barack Obama, said this decision "is causing a lot of concern" and that it's hard not to see it as an attempt to reinforce Netanyahu's chances of remaining prime minister.
"It's hard not to badociate two people," Panetta told CNN. "The president has clearly expressed his support for Netanyahu."
Decision was the construction
Trump's decision has been gaining momentum for weeks, a senior administration official told CNN.
US Ambbadador to Israel David Friedman and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina visited Israel's occupied territory earlier this month with the Prime Minister, an early sign that was preparing to recognize the sovereignty of Israel in the territory.
But the final decision was made this week as Trump had held several meetings with key collaborators, said the official.
National Security Advisor John Bolton, Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt were consulted and supported the decision, the official said.
"There is no obvious constituency to not do that," said the official, defending the move.
The official refused to say when he had taken into account the impact that this could have on the Israeli elections.
This decision is Trump's latest controversial unilateral decision against Israel, thwarting long-standing US policy.
In December 2017, Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and transferred the United States Embbady to the Holy City last year.
The United States previously had an embbady in Tel Aviv and had been saying for years that the status of Jerusalem would only be decided in the context of a broader peace agreement between Israel and Palestine.
A European diplomat based in the region told CNN that Trump 's announcement Thursday was a new indication of the administration' s willingness to respond to Israel 's demands.
This is "further proof that the Trump administration is willing to ignore international law in order to satisfy Israeli demands, including Security Council resolutions backed by previous administrations," the diplomat said. CNN.
Andrew Carey and Oren Liebermann from CNN contributed to this report.
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