Page 5 - TORCH Magazine #13 - April 2019

A Legal Right
But what about Israel’s legal claim to the Golan Heights?
The UK government condemned President Trump’s acknowledgement of Israel’s annexation saying it is prohibited under international law. The EU also reacted stating it does not recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the area.
They are wrong.
International law states that if a country aggressively invades and occupies another country and then annexes it, it is illegal.
However, if a country itself is attacked
and in the course of defending itself takes territory that is necessary for defence, it is
not only legal under international law for that country to occupy the territory, but it is a moral imperative.
Under the UN Charter, defensive action is not illegal and throughout history countries have obtained territory gained in their own defence. Yet the UN persistently condemns Israel’s possession of the Golan Heights and
A Moral Imperative
It is morally wrong for Britain and any other country to expect Israel to set aside its legal rights to the Golan Heights and its obligation to protect its people and its Sovereignty.
When Trump gave US recognition, he effectively placed the Golan Heights alongside Jerusalem as being off the table in any future peace talks. He also sent a clear message to Israel’s enemies that America has Israel’s back.
Today with Iranian military having a foothold in Syria and with its proxy Hezbollah located just across Israel’s border, Israel is not going to surrender the Golan Heights, and neither should they.
Iran is constantly trying to approach the Israeli border on the Golan Heights, and the area has already seen cross-border rocket attacks which were organized by the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
According to the White House, "To allow the Golan Heights to be
fails to recognise its legitimate claim.
In the past Israel has offered Syria the
Golan Heights in exchange for peace, but all approaches have been rejected.
If Israel accepted calls from the international community, including Britain’s Foreign Office, to return the Golan Heights,
it would mean that Israel has to surrender strategic territory to people who want to attack them. The threat is no longer just Syria, which is one of the countries that attacked Israel in the Six Day War. It is now Iran whose regime has repeatedly declared it wants to wipe Israel off the map and is using Syrian territory to strengthen its arm.
controlled by the likes of the Syrian and Iranian regimes would turn a blind eye to the threats emanating from a Syrian regime that engages in atrocities and from Iran and terrorist actors, including Hezbollah, seeking to use the Golan Heights as a launching ground for attacks on Israel,”
If Western governments are genuinely interested in peace and want to send a clear condemnation against terror and aggression, they would be wise to support Israel’s undisputable Sovereignty over the Golan Heights.