President Donald Trump on Thursday recognised Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, in an abrupt reversal of longstanding US policy on the contested area. In a tweet on Thursday, Mr Trump said that after 52 years it was important for the United States to fully recognise Israel’s control over what he said is an area of “critical strategic and security importance to … Israel and regional stability”. The recognition of the disputed area marks a major shift in US policy, a week before Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Washington to meet with Mr Trump and address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
