Trump says time to recognize Israel's sovereignty over Golan Heights

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that it was time for the United States to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, which it seized from Syria in 1967.

Such a bold move marking a major shift in US policy would further complicate the situation and escalate tensions in the region, US experts said.

In a surprise tweet, Trump said that "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!"

In response, Israel's Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer tweeted "THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has always asserted that the Israeli presence in the Golan is "thwarting" Iran's ambitions of expansion and "is a guarantee for stability" in the region, also tweeted that "at a time when 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!"

Richard N. Haass, head of US think tank Council on Foreign Relations, tweeted that he "strongly disagree(s) @realDonaldTrump; now NOT the time 4 US to recognize Israel sovereignty over Golan Hts."

Trump's statement came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday, when Netanyahu said "I think it's time that the international community recognizes Israel's stay in the Golan, the fact that the Golan will always remain part of the state of Israel."

Pompeo said earlier on Wednesday at a joint press conference with Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah that "there's been no change in US policy with respect to" the position on the Golan Heights.

But recent signs have shown otherwise, indicating that the Trump administration was moving in accordance with Israel's appeal.