by Ariel Kahana
U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman tells Israel Hayom there is "certainly" a possibility that the U.S. will officially recognize Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights
U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman
Photo: Ziv Koren
U.S. Ambassador to
Israel David Friedman believes that the Golan Heights will remain under
Israeli sovereignty, and certainly won't be placed back in the hands of
Syria's current leader, President Bashar Assad.
In an exclusive interview with Israel
Hayom, which will be published in full on Friday, Friedman says that "I
can't imagine a circumstance where the Golan Heights will be returned to
Syria. I cannot imagine, frankly, a circumstance where the Golan
Heights is not a part of Israel forever. There's not even an indigenous
population in the Golan Heights seeking autonomy."
"So I think you'd put Israel at a great
security disadvantage by giving up the high ground of the Golan
Heights," he continued. "Needless to say, I can't think of a less
deserving person to receive this kind of reward than Bashar Assad. So
there are a whole host of reasons why I would expect the status quo to
remain."
Friedman stressed that the Trump
administration may consider official recognition of the Golan Heights as
Israeli territory in the future.
Two weeks ago, during a visit to Israel,
National Security Adviser John Bolton remarked that the Trump
administration is not discussing possible U.S. recognition of Israeli
sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Responding to this remark, Friedman
said that "it is certainly possible" that the U.S. would recognize
Israeli sovereignty, explaining that Bolton's remark "was simply a
statement of fact. It's simply not on the list of things that are
happening right now."
Friedman also dismissed any possibility
that any future U.S. administrations would reverse President Donald
Trump's official recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital late last
year.
"I really can't see that happening, no
matter what party is in control," he said. "In order for an
administration to reverse this, they would have to conclude that
Jerusalem is not the capital of Israel and Tel Aviv is. I think that
would be a far more controversial thing to do than what the president
did. It would be completely at odds with reality and I don't believe
that there is any American politician of any party – of no party – who
would take a position that is completely contrary to reality. So I don't
think that's going to happen."
Attempting to explain Trump's deep
affection for Israel, Friedman revealed that Israeli intelligence had
helped prevent terrorist attacks on American soil, and spoke about
Trump's appreciation for Israel's success.
"He likes to win," Friedman said of Trump.
"He's very good at winning, he likes people who win, he thinks that
success breeds more success and he knows how difficult it is to succeed,
so I think he has greater admiration for what Israel has accomplished,
maybe even more than some Israelis."
In the interview, Friedman also addressed
the recent U.S. administration decision to defund UNRWA, the U.N. agency
that supports Palestinian refugees.
"UNRWA is a critically flawed organization.
It doesn't advance regional peace and actually perpetuates the
conditions that make peace even harder to achieve. As such, the U.S.
doesn't see how any additional investment in the agency will yield a
worthy return for the American taxpayers," Friedman said.
Ariel Kahana
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/09/06/us-ambassador-believes-golan-will-be-part-of-israel-forever/
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