According to Minister of Transportation (Likud) Yisrael Katz, it is time for the United States to recognize the Golan Heights as part of Israel. The minister made his comments at a gathering marking 35 years since Prime Minister Menachem Begin annexed the Golan Heights as part of Israel. The event was hosted in the Jerusalem-based Begin Heritage Center.

He explained the day the US moves its embassy to Jerusalem would be an appropriate time to announce recognition of Golan Heights as being part of the State of Israel.

Katz feels Israel must also make settlement in the Golan Heights a priority and being an additional 100,000 residents in the coming years. He also stated the ongoing peace with Egypt was the result of the treaty signed during the Begin administration.

As far as Jerusalem and the city’s future, he rejects and notion of a Palestinian state with any claim to the holy capital. “It goes against our historic rights to the Land of Israel and constitutes a serious risk to the future security of Israel. In the age of missiles, with the methods available for producing various types of weapons and attack tunnels, the presence of the IDF on the Jordan border is not enough to prevent surprise attacks or terror.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)