US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is failing to support Trump's decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken declined to support the administration of former President Donald Trump's recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, referring instead to the region's importance to Israel's security.
Blinken said, according to the American "Al-Hurra" channel today, Tuesday, that: "In practice, I believe that controlling the Golan in this situation remains of real importance for the security of Israel .. Legal questions are something else and over time if the situation in Syria changes, then this is one thing. We are looking at it, but we are not close to that anyway. "
The US Secretary of State also affirmed the Biden administration’s commitment to maintaining the US embassy in Jerusalem, after the Trump administration recognized the city as the capital of Israel, in a reversal of previous US policy.
Asked why Biden had not spoken to Netanyahu, Blinken said, "I'm sure they will have a chance to speak in the near future."
He added that the government of the Syrian regime, in addition to the presence of the Iranian-backed armed factions, constituted a "major security threat" to Israel.
Former President Donald Trump granted formal US recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan in 2019, in a major shift from a policy that the United States has followed for decades.
Israel occupied the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally.
