America could recognise Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights, senior minister claims

Trump administration has already recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital

Israeli soldiers walk past tanks near the border with Syria in the Golan Heights (Reuters)

The US could soon recognise the disputed Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory, a senior minister in the country has suggested.

Intelligence minister Israel Katz said that the subject was “topping the agenda” in talks with the Trump administration.

He suggested that such a move would bolster US efforts to confront Iran, which have seen the US president withdraw his country from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Agreed between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, UK, France, China and Russia - plus Germany, it saw Iran agree to limit the size of its stockpile of enriched uranium - which is used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons - for 15 years and the number of centrifuges installed to enrich uranium for 10 years.

The US has also issued sanctions intended to punish Iran for funding armed proxy groups.

“The most painful response you can give the Iranians is to recognise Israel’s Golan sovereignty - with an American statement, a presidential proclamation”, Mr Katz said.

Adding to the push, an Israeli legislator wrote to America’s ambassador to Israel requesting that America recognise Israel’s claim to the disputed area, according to the Jerusalem Post.

After Israel seized the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six-Day War and then unilaterally annexed the area in 1981, its status has figured repeatedly into debates about Israel’s territorial rights in the region.

The area formerly belonged to Syria, whose president Bashar al-Assad has received Iranian backing as he seeks to prevail in a brutal civil war.

Earlier this year, Israel struck Iranian forces in Syria in retaliation for what it called rocket attacks on its positions in the Golan Heights, prompting fears of the Syria conflict further escalating and spilling over Syria’s borders.

Backing Israel's assertion of sovereignty there could have widespread repercussions, unsettling the region and provoking more criticism of Israel's control over areas captured in past conflicts.

But the Trump administration has already proven willing to defy world opinion in aligning itself with Israeli claims. Earlier this year Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the country’s capital and the US embassy was moved there from Tel Aviv earlier this month.

While Israeli officials lauded the change, it drew a global backlash and warnings from Palestinian leadership that America had forfeited a credible role in the peace process.

Just as the Jerusalem decision inflamed regional tensions, a move by the US to back Israeli claims to the Golan Heights could anger other nations who see the area as illegitimately occupied.