ALBAWABA- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has welcomed Colombia’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, declaring that the territory is Israeli land and will remain under Israeli control.
In a video statement, Netanyahu pointed to a map of the Golan Heights and said the Israeli flag would continue to fly there. He thanked Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella for the decision, saying: “This is our land.”
Colombia’s Foreign Ministry announced the recognition on August 10, only days after de la Espriella took office. The ministry cited the Golan’s strategic importance to Israel’s national security amid regional instability and described continued Israeli control as essential to its defence.
Colombia is now the second country, after the United States, to formally recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Washington recognized the territory as Israeli in 2019 under then-President Donald Trump.
Israel captured most of the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and formally extended its laws and administration to the territory in 1981, a move widely regarded internationally as an occupation.
Israeli officials have continued to portray the Golan as strategically vital to the country’s security. Defence Minister Israel Katz and other officials have argued that Israeli control of the area, including military positions around Mount Hermon and the buffer zone along the Syrian border, is necessary to protect communities in the Golan and prevent hostile forces from establishing positions near the border.
Damascus has strongly rejected Colombia’s decision. Syria’s Foreign Ministry described the recognition as a violation of the UN Charter and the principle prohibiting the acquisition of territory by force. It also cited UN Security Council Resolution 497, adopted in 1981, which declared Israel’s decision to impose its laws and administration on the Golan “null and void and without international legal effect.”
Syria reaffirmed that the Golan Heights remains an integral part of Syrian territory and said it had submitted a formal complaint to the United Nations. Damascus also pointed to continued international support for UN General Assembly resolutions affirming Syrian sovereignty over the territory.
Several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and Jordan, have likewise rejected Colombia’s recognition, maintaining that the Golan remains occupied Syrian territory under international law regardless of bilateral declarations.
