Netanyahu says Golan Heights will “forever stay in Israeli hands”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, April 17 his country will never withdraw from the Golan Heights and the strategic plateau bordering Syria will forever stay in Israeli hands, the Associated Press reports.

In a ceremonial Cabinet meeting in the Golan marking the one-year anniversary of his current government's formation, Netanyahu said he doubts Syria will ever return to what it was before the devastating civil war that has gripped it for more than five years. He said he would not oppose diplomatic efforts to stabilize Syria as long as they didn't come at the expense of Israel's security. Netanyahu added that, regardless, the border would not change and it was time for the world to finally recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan.

"I chose to have this festive Cabinet meeting on the Golan Heights to send a clear message: The Golan Heights will forever remain in Israeli hands," he said. "It's time, after 50 years, that the international community finally recognizes that the Golan will forever remain under Israeli sovereignty."

The remarks drew quick condemnation from Syria, which lays claim to the territory under international law.

Syria's Foreign Ministry lodged complaints with the UN Secretary General and Security Council over the Cabinet meeting, calling it "reckless" and "provocative." It called on the international community to push Israel out of what it called the, "occupied Syrian Golan."

Israel captured the Golan from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in 1981. An Israeli withdrawal was long seen as a key to any Israel-Syria peace agreement. But as Syria began to disintegrate, the odds of Israel giving up the Golan — never a popular prospect among Israelis — have dimmed.