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Jerusalem /Â AFP
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday that the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights would “forever” remain in his country’s hands as his cabinet held its first meeting in the territory.
“The Golan Heights will remain in the hands of Israel forever,” Netanyahu said at the start of the cabinet meeting, in comments broadcast on public radio.
“Israel will never withdraw from the Golan Heights.” Israeli media have reported that Netanyahu planned the cabinet meeting as a statement amid fears Israel could come under pressure to return the Golan—which it seized from Syria in 1967—as part of a future peace deal for its war-torn neighbour.
Urging the international community to recognise Israel’s claim on the territory, Netanyahu said he told US Secretary of State John Kerry in a conversation on Saturday night that it was doubtful Syria can return to what it was.
The premier also plans to meet President Vladimir Putin in Russia, a key backer of Syria’s President Bashar Al Assad, on Thursday.
“The time has come for the international community to recognise reality, especially two basic facts,” Netanyahu said. “One, whatever is beyond the border, the boundary itself will not change. Two, after 50 years, the time has come for the international community to finally recognise that the Golan Heights will remain under Israel’s sovereignty permanently.”