Security Council rejects Netanyahu Golan Heights Declaration

The United Nations Security Council has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s April 17 declaration that the Golan Heights would forever remain under Israeli sovereignty. The plateau was conquered from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed by Israel in 1981 in an act never recognized by the international community. Netanyahu called attention to the future of the Golan by holding a weekly cabinet meeting there and declaring it would never be relinquished. On Tuesday, the UN Security Council held a closed-door session about the issue, after which the Chinese ambassador Liu Jieyi, acting in his capacity as the Council’s rotating presidency, told reporters that the status of the Golan Heights “remains unchanged” despite recent Israeli statements. Liu added that Israel’s annexation in 1981 was rendered “null and void and without international legal effect” by virtue of Security Council resolution 497 of that year. Accepted by consensus, the Security Council’s statement is agreed to by all members, including the United States, which had previously rejected Israel’s claim. The Israeli response accused the UN of ignoring reality and asking, “Who is the appropriate party with which to negotiate its claim to the Golan: Al-Qa’ida, Islamic State, Hizbullah?”