A Druze shepherd leads his goats near the village of Buqata in the Golan Heights on March 22. (Atef Safadi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)President Trump’s statement that the United States should recognize the Golan Heights as part of Israel was widely welcomed by Israelis on Friday but also triggered criticism that he was interfering in a close election campaign to help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The latest polls show the Likud Party and Blue and White Party battling it out for first place in the elections. “With all the joy of American recognition of the Golan Heights, it is essential to say: The ‘Golan in exchange for Hamastan’ deal is a danger to Jewish settlements and to Israel,” Rhynhold said. Just over half of the population on the Golan Heights are Arabic speaking Druze who live alongside Israelis who have settled there since it was captured in the 1967 war.

Source: Washington Post March 22, 2019 15:12 UTC