Trump Decision On Golan Contradicts Historical US Refusal To Recognize War Conquests

US President Donald Trump's plan to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, conquered from Syria in 1967, contradicts the long-standing US policy position of refusing to recognize any seizure of land from another power by war, analysts told Sputnik

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd March, 2019) US President Donald Trump's plan to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, conquered from Syria in 1967, contradicts the long-standing US policy position of refusing to recognize any seizure of land from another power by war, analysts told Sputnik.

Trump said in a Twitter message on Thursday that he was planning to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the strategically important Golan Heights, a border area that the country conquered from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War.

Trump's announcement came just before his ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who is fighting for reelection - was due to visit the United States to meet Trump and address the annual America-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference next week.

TERRITORIAL ACQUISITION BY WAR - UNACEPTABLE

Trump's announcement ran counter to one of the key principles directing public US foreign policies for generations, veteran US Syria analyst and historian Helena Cobban said on Friday.

"If this goes ahead, one key significance is that it ends Washington's long-held position that the acquisition of territory by war is unacceptable," Cobban said.

Once implemented, Trump's recognition would also effectively be an act of hostility toward the Syrian government in Damascus, Cobban pointed out.

"It is a virtual declaration of war against Syria - after eight years in which the United States has given more or less overt support for the anti-government insurgents in Syria," she said.

At the level of international legality, however, Trump's announcement would change nothing, Cobban observed.

"This act, of course, makes no difference to the fact that the whole Golan area is still a territory under Israeli military occupation. Hence, the implantation of settlers and the extraction of resources are both quite illegal," she said.

TRUMP'S DECISION TO STIR UP ARAB RESENTMENT

Trump's decision would backfire on him by stirring up resentment across the Arab world, making it more difficult for him to achieve his other goals in the region, especially his much touted efforts to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Cobban warned.

"Regarding broader regional dynamics, Trump doing this will make it much harder for anyone in the Arab world, even MBS [Mohammed Bin Salman], to work with him on the long-delayed 'deal of the century,'" she said.

Cobban advised that Trump had timed his announcement to boost Netanyahu's reelection chances in a hard-fought Israeli election due to be held in April.

"Why he [Trump] did it now? Almost certainly to help Netanyahu's electoral chances," she said.

Trump could also face resistance within the US government from officials who may try to block or slow down his new Golan policy, Cobban suggested.

"[Will] the US bureaucracy try to 'slow-walk' implementation of this Trump edict, as they did with his earlier 'decision' to end the US military presence in Syria completely? They probably have less motivation... in this case, but there may be some elements in the bureaucracy that want to do so," she said.

TRUMP'S DECISION HAS WIDER IMPORTANCE

Electronic Intifada associate editor Asa Winstanley agreed that Trump's decision on Golan had a wider importance because it validated the principle of holding on to territories seized by aggressive military action.

"It's quite significant, because it gives official US recognition to Syrian territories conquered by a military aggressor and its illegal occupation regime," Winstanely said.

The move was also driven by the growing extremism of nationalist forces within Israel, Winstanley stated.

"Increasing moves such as this to recognize Israeli annexations of Palestinian and Arab territory are driven by the increasingly fascist Israeli right. But it also means that the smoke screen of the so called peace process will be increasingly recognized for the farce that it is," he said.

However, in the long run, Trump's move would increase the pace of the current collapse of Israel's political support in Washington and London, Winstanley concluded.