EU still refuses to recognise Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights

The European Union has not changed its position regarding the Golan Heights and does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied territory, Maja Kocijancic, the spokesperson for EU diplomatic service, said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The position of the European Union as regards the status of the Golan Heights has not changed. In line with the international law and UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 497, the European Union does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights", Kocijancic said.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order formally recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights after his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

The US move, which is widely regarded as beneficial not only for Israel but personally for Netanyahu, who is running in the April 9 parliamentary elections, has already been condemned by Russia, Syria, Iran, Turkey and other countries. US major allies, such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom, have similarly refused to back the US U-turn on the Golan, which runs against the UN Security Council resolutions.

The Golan Heights, a strategically important area due to its water resources among other reasons, has been mostly under Israel's control since the country seized the area during the 1967 Six-Day War. When Israel adopted a law that effectively annexed the territory back in 1981, the United Nations unanimously declared that it was "null and void and without international legal effect."

In 2018, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution urging Israel to immediately withdraw its forces from the area after the country organized local elections in the area on October 30.

(SPUTNIK)