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True to form

Jan 09,2019 - Last updated at Jan 09,2019

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressing US President Donald Trump to outdo himself by recognising Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Netanyahu made this request during a joint press conference on Sunday with National Security Adviser John Bolton, who is visiting Israel to discuss the ramifications of Trump's decision to withdraw the token US military presence in the northeast of Syria.

The heights are, of course, part and parcel of the Syrian territory occupied by Israel during the 1967 six-day war and then "annexed" by it in 1981. Repeated resolutions adopted by the UN rejected this illegal Israeli occupation and annexation but Israel, as usual, continues to defy global unanimity against its occupation and annexation of the heights and now, true to form, is taking yet another provocative step by calling on President Trump to recognise its grip on the Syrian heights.

Normally, any such Israeli request for the recognition of its annexation of the Golan Heights would be dismissed as simply a folly and reckless step has it not been timed with the occupation of the White House by no other than President Donald Trump, who has already established a precedent of brushing aside international legitimacy when he recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital back in 2017.

The biggest fear lies in the proposition that President Trump may repeat his infamous recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital by now yielding to Israeli pressure again and recognising Israel's annexation of the heights. No one would put it past Trump to do just that, given his perfect record as a solid champion of Israeli causes and policies, especially with regards to the occupied Arab lands, be they in the West Bank or the Syrian heights.

If President Trump takes such a decision, he would be, in effect, destroying all remaining bridges between his nation and the Arab world.

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