US’ Greenblatt Posts Map Annexing Golan Heights to Israel

Jason Greenblatt, the top White House Middle East peace negotiator, posted a map showing the occupied Golan Heights as part of Israel.

“Welcome to the newest addition of our international maps system after POTUS issued a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights,” Greenblatt tweeted.

President Donald Trump in March recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the strategic plateau, even though the annexation is in violation of long-established US policy on the matter.

Meanwhile, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Frederica Mogherini restated that the EU still doesn’t recognize Israeli sovereignty over the highly contentious heights, stressing that taking it over by military force will result in dangerous consequences.

“Our position on the Golan Heights has been so clear because we believe that international rules, international law and international standards must be upheld,” continued Mogherini.

“Borders cannot be changed by military force,” Mogherini said. “And this is a principle behind which the EU will continue to firmly stand and in a united manner.”

In late March the United States recognized Israel’s 1981 annexation of the Golan Heights, a territory Israel seized from Syria after the 1967 Middle East war. The EU’s top diplomat also noted that she had already issued a declaration on behalf of all the 28 member states and clarified their stance on the Golan Heights.

Additionally, she said, the five EU member states of the UN Security Council – including the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Poland – had expressed the bloc’s common position on Golan in a joint stake-out.

Reaffirming the EU’s position on the Golan, Mogherini stressed support for a two-state solution which ensures Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace according to recognized and secure borders. She also warned that abandoning the two-state solution spur untold chaos in the Middle East.