PM Netanyahu To Top U.S. Diplomat: Recognize Israeli Sovereignty Over Golan Heights

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. In a face-to-face on Wednesday, he asserted that the bilateral relationship between the two countries “has never been stronger” and reinforced an “unbreakable bond that’s based on shared values of liberty and democracy and [the] shared interest to fight… the enemies of our way of life, the terrorists that plague.” For his part, the Israeli premier hailed US President Donald Trump’s hardline approach to Tehran and the need to work “in close coordination to roll back Iranian aggression in the region and around the world.” Netanyahu also called on the international community to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. This came on the heels of a recent visit to Israel by US Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who vowed to lobby the Trump Administration to do just that. It also comes days after the State Department released its annual human rights report that for the first time referred to the territory captured from Syria in the 1967 war as “Israeli-controlled” while expunging the word “occupied” in relation to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In his meetings with Netanyahu, Pompeo is not expected to discuss in detail the White House’s soon-to-be-released peace plan, which the Palestinian Authority already has rejected out-of-hand. On Thursday, Pompeo is slated to visit the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site; tour the new US Embassy in Jerusalem; and participate in a tripartite meeting of Israel, Greece and Cyprus focusing on a planned natural-gas pipeline from the Mediterranean to Europe. Meanwhile, Trump will host Netanyahu at the White House next week, raising accusations that Washington is interfering in the Jewish state’s upcoming elections, which American officials have categorically denied. The two leaders are scheduled to hold a “working meeting” on Monday, followed by a dinner the next evening. According to Israeli media, an American declaration on the Golan Heights could be forthcoming during Netanyahu’s visit.