Does Israel recognize its own sovereignty on the Golan? - Shlomo Pitrikovsky

by Shlomo Pitrikovsky

Ministry of Finance reports presented to US include a map that does not appear to reflect the Israeli law that applied sovereignty in 1981.

The map

Screenshot

Official Israeli financial reports for 2015 that were recently submitted to the US Security and Exchange Commission do not present the Golan Heights as part of Israel's sovereign territory. Official sources told Arutz Sheva that this is not a mistake.

The reports in question are ones that Israel is obliged to submit to US authorities, because Israel bonds are traded in US markets.

The reports are written by the Finance Ministry. Specifically, the unit in charge of producing them is the one headed by the Finance Ministry's Accountant General, Michal Abadi-Boiangiu. Besides providing updates on Israel's current financial situation, the reports include general information about the state of Israel.

It was this general section of the report included the problematic map, which failed to reflect the fact that the Golan Heights are a part of sovereign Israel, in accordance with to a law that passed in 1981. In the map, which is visible above, the Golan Heights are shaded differently from the rest of Israel, as are Judea and Samaria – to which sovereignty has yet to be applied.

Diplomatic sources explained that the application of Israeli jurisdiction to the Golan Heights, as legislated in 1981, is not congruent to annexation, and that is why the Golan Heights were shaded differently.

The sources said that while there is clearly a legal dispute on the matter, the official legal position is the one expressed by the state's official international maps, as published.


Shlomo Pitrikovsky

Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/216721

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