Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the Golan Heights would remain under Israeli sovereignty “forever”, after Syria’s president insisted at the United Nations that it was Syrian land.
“My clear response to the Syrian president, who made bombastic declarations from the UN podium: The Golan under Israeli sovereignty is an inseparable part of the State of Israel forever,” Katz said in a video statement.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six Day War of 1967 and annexed the territory in 1981. The United States had been the only country to recognise the annexation until Colombia recognised Israel’s claim last month.
