WASHINGTON (Reuters) – United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday hardly endorsed the Trump administration’s recognition of the occupied Golan Heights as part of Israel, rather than noting that the territory was important to the Israel’s security.
Former President Donald Trump officially granted the United States recognition of Golan as Israeli territory in 2019 – a dramatic change from decades of United States politics. Israel captured the Syrian Golan in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a movement that is not internationally recognized.
“As a practical matter, the control of Golan in that situation, I think it remains of real importance to Israel’s security,” Blinken told CNN. “Legal issues are something else and, over time, if the situation changes in Syria, this is something we look at, but we are nowhere near that.”
He added that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, as well as the presence of militia groups supported by Iran, represent a “significant security threat” to Israel.
Biden’s advisers had previously said that he would not withdraw US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan.
Blinken also reiterated the Biden government’s commitment to maintaining the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem after the Trump administration recognized the city as Israel’s capital, reversing previous U.S. policy.
Trump was largely in tune with Middle East policy with his closest ally in the region, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden and his team said they would restore ties to Trump-cut Palestinians, resume aid and reject unilateral actions, such as building Israeli settlements in occupied territory.
The fact that Biden has not spoken to Netanyahu so far in the midst of his ties to foreign leaders has raised eyebrows in Israel and among experts in the Middle East. Obama and Trump spoke to him days after taking office.
When asked why Biden did not speak to Netanyahu, Blinken said: “I am sure they will have an opportunity to speak in the near future.”
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Simon Lewis; Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)