According to the Associated Press, on the 23rd local time, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Affairs, Barak, retracted his statement made two days earlier that 'Israel still occupies the Golan Heights', stating that the U.S. continued to follow the policy set by President Trump in 2019, acknowledging Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
The Golan Heights is a narrow strip of land in southwestern Syria, known as the "Water Tower of the Middle East". Israel occupied this strategic area during the Third Middle East War in 1967. Since then, it has maintained actual control over the region and refused to return it to Syria. The international community does not recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory.
On the 21st of this month, Barak stated in an interview that Israel is still “occupying” that region. This statement caused dissatisfaction within the United States. Republican Senator Rick Scott accused the envoy nominated by Trump of seemingly forgetting that it was Trump who recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Barak responded on the 23rd that his previous statement was a description of the historical status of the Golan Heights, and not an endorsement of the United Nations’ position on the Golan Heights. He added, “The United States’ position on the Golan Heights was established by President Trump in 2019, and has not changed since then.”
He claimed that his intention was to emphasize that the agreement reached through negotiations is more lasting than territorial demarcation. He also tried to use the Golan Heights as an example to illustrate that “territory acquired by force will cause disputes for generations.”
