EU will not follow Trump's recognition of Israel sovereignty in Golan Heights

Flags of the member states fly in front of the building of the European parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on April 3, 2011 [SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP/Getty Images]

The European Union (EU) will not follow in the footsteps of US President Donald Trump regarding the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.

A spokeswoman for EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini, Maya Kosyanchich, said in a statement: “The European Union, in accordance with international law, does not recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the territories it occupied since July 1967, including the Golan Heights, and does not consider them as part of Israeli territory,” the Times of Israel reported yesterday.

European Council President Donald Tusk reiterated this position, yesterday saying that the EU is holding its line on the Golan Heights. “The EU’s position is well-known and has not changed,” Tusk told a news conference yesterday when asked to comment on Trump’s remarks.

The EU does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which was occupied by Israel in 1967.

Earlier this week, Trump wrote on Twitter that it is time to “fully” recognise Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights because it is of “critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and regional stability.”

Read: Netanyahu tells Trump he has ‘made history’ with Golan move

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