Arabic version: باراك يؤكد مجدداً اعتراف الولايات المتحدة بمطالبة إسرائيل بالجولان

According to Al Jazeera, United States Ambassador Tom Barrack has reasserted Washington’s position that Syria’s Golan Heights belongs to Israel, reversing comments in which he said the territory was occupied against international order.

Barrack, US President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Turkiye and envoy for Syria, said in a statement to The Associated Press that US policy was set by Trump in 2019 and had not changed. Trump recognised Israel’s claimed sovereignty over the territory in southern Syria.

Israel occupied the Golan during the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981. Before Trump backed Israel’s claim, no country had recognised the Golan as part of Israel. The recognition drew international criticism, while legal experts warned it could undermine the prohibition on acquiring land by force.

In an interview with podcaster Mario Nawfal on Friday, Barrack said that Israel still occupied the Golan against United Nations resolutions and international order, which he said considers the territory Syrian. His remarks prompted criticism from pro-Israel advocates, including commentator Laura Loomer and Republican Senator Rick Scott.

Barrack had also faced criticism for opposing Israeli air strikes on a Syrian airbase. In the Nawfal interview, he suggested one theory was that the strikes were intended to antagonise Turkiye, which is allied with the Syrian government, and referred to US midterm elections in November.