(Ha'aretz) Zvi Hauser - Syria used to exist, but soon will no longer exist. The validity of the arrangements that defined borders in the Middle East after World War I has expired. In the Golan Heights there is no core element of ruling another people; the 22,000 Druze who are fortunate enough to live on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights are entitled to full Israeli citizenship. The region has a Jewish majority, with some 25,000 Jewish residents. Above all, there is no alternative to Israeli rule on the Golan. In 1975, U.S. President Gerald Ford made a presidential promise in writing to then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, which included American recognition of Israel's need to remain on the Golan Heights, even in peacetime. The writer was Israel's Cabinet Secretary (2009-2013).
2015-07-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive