Netanyahu ‘still hopes’ US will recognize Israel’s Golan Heights sovereignty claim

Israel still hopes Washington will recognize its claim to sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. Israel captured much of the Golan from Syria in a 1967 war and annexed it, in a move not endorsed internationally. In May, a senior Israeli official said that US recognition could be forthcoming within months. During a visit to Israel this week US National Security Advisor John Bolton told Reuters that “there’s no discussion of it, no decision within the US government.” Netanyahu was asked whether Israel, in light of Bolton’s remarks, had dropped expectations of US recognition of Israel’s Golan claim. He replied: “Would I give up on such a thing? No way.”