European Parliament member calls for EU to recognise Israel’s sovereignty over Golan Heights
A member of the European Parliament has called on the European Union to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
An old Israeli tank with a flag overlooking the Syrian town of Quneitra in the Golan Heights on Feb. 11, 2018. Israeli Air Force F-16 jets were sent to Syria following an invasion of an Iranian drone. Photo by Hadas Parush/Flash90.
“It is in the interest of the European Union to stop considering the Golan Heights as an ‘occupied territory’ and to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over this territory,” said Fulvio Martuscello, Italian MEP who chairs the European Parliament delegation for relations with Israel.
The E.U. considers the Golan Heights as “occupied territory” by Israel since the country took over the region from Syria in the closing stages of the 1967 Six-Day War. The Golan Heights has a strategic importance for the country, as it gives Israel an excellent vantage points for monitoring Syrian movements. The topography provides a natural buffer against any military thrust from Syria. The area also provides a third of Israel’s water supply.
Despite its official neutrality in the Syrian conflict, the State of Israel has provided humanitarian aid to Syrian war victims, an effort that has been drastically geared up since June 2016, but it has also strongly opposed the presence of Iranian military or of its proxies.
According to MEP Martusciello, recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights “will give trust to the E.U. as a broker in the Middle East peace process and even a potential to use it as leverage.”
“In a time where the E.U. is receiving refugees escaping the war in Syria it is time to take a clear position and recognize the importance of having Israel as the de jure sovereign of this territory,” he added.
For Martusciello, the European Union “needs to reinforce its engagement with the State of Israel.’’
“We have seen a turbulent region where Israel has been an oasis of democracy despite the tensions with the Palestinians and the situation in Gaza,” he said.
(EJP via JNS)
Well, thank you Fulvio Martuscello – a voice of sweet reason with not a sign of dislike or malice for Israel, and in the European Parliament!
This is far more important than the tank pictured, and of course the Golan Heights is now justifiably Israel’s and must remain so with security in mind. To the Syrians: if you don’t want to risk losing territory, don’t wage war. To the Europeans: look at your own backyards and consider your own histories … quite a bit of territory changing hands over the years.
The Syrian Ba’ath mass murderer mass torturers do not defeat evil the Golan Heights and used it to divert Israel’s just water needs and shelled Israeli kibbutzim with plans for far greater destructiveness against the Jewish People .
The Jewish State ought continue its Security Control of the Golan Heights as Menacing Threats against Israel are inevitable .
For real peace compromise and demilitarised zones are possible .
The “old” tank is a Centurion (MBT), a British tank developed at the end of WW2. Australia had about 250 of them initially but only a regiment of them was really active from the early 1950-1977 with a squadron deployed to South Vietnam in 1969.
The Centurion was replaced by the German Leopard (about 100) which in turn was replaced by the US Abrams tank (about 50) a decade ago.
4423 Centurion tanks were produced and is still in service with Israel, Jordan and South Africa.
Other countries that used to have the Centurion tank were: Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, India, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Netherlands, New Zealand, Somalia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.