WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump signed a proclamation today officially declaring Golan Heights a territory of Israel. This historic move reverses 52 years of American policy which disregarded that, under international law, Israel had a right to claim this territory it captured in a defensive war against Syria.

President Trump said he was taking the “historic action” because Iran and terrorist groups “continue to make the Golan Heights a potential launching ground for attacks against Israel. This was a long time in the making. Should have taken place decades ago.” 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Trump, “Israel has never had a better friend than you. It was so important for me to come here to the White House and thank you.”

Christians in Defense of Israel delivered petitions to the White House on March 7 calling for this historic move.

Israel captured the Golan Heights, or Bashan as it was known, in the 1967 Six-Day War against Syria. The U.S. since referred to the Golan Heights as “Israeli-occupied” land rather than owned by Israel, which under international law it had a right to claim as territory gained in a defensive war.

“President Trump is the first president to finally recognize Israel’s rightful ownership over the Golan Heights,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel and President of Christians in Defense of Israel. “The Golan Heights have been part of Israel since biblical times and was part of the land allotted to the twelve tribes of Israel some 3,500 years ago."

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