Sen. Lindsey Graham Spearheading Effort to Recognize Golan Heights as Israel

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says it’s time for the state of Israel to annex the Golan Heights some fifty-two years after conquering the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 war. Graham illustrated his point by making the announcement during a helicopter visit in the company of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx) will work with him on his lobbying effort. After returning to Jerusalem, the senator from South Carolina told The Media Line that part of his motive for lobbying the Trump administration is to send a message to Tehran that its destabilizing behavior will be met with gestures of this sort to the benefit of Israel. Graham explained that, “I wanted to do this now…Iranian efforts to dismember the region have gotten stronger…today is a such a poetic day for me to be here because the day Qasem Soleimani [leader of Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s infamous Quds Force] has been given the highest award you can get in Iran for fighting Israel and the United States is the same day I’d like to start a discussion back home about recognizing the Golan as being  part of Israel.” Asked about Prime Minister Netanyahu’s legal woes, Graham said, “I don’t know what is due process in Israel, but charges 45 to 60 days before the election with no response until after the election wouldn’t fly in the U.S.”