Previous administrations viewed the status of the Golan Heights, like other occupied territories and divided Jerusalem, as bargaining chips in an overall regional peace deal. The area was also a key negotiating point in a more narrow peace deal the U.S. had sought to broker between Israel and Syria. But as the New York Times noted, Syria has other issues to work through, to put it mildly, before it can focus on resolving the status of the Golan Heights. Several Arab leaders blasted Trump’s pronouncement, but the damage the Assad regime inflicted on Syria may quite simply have settled the disputed area’s fate in Israel’s favor.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 22, 2019 18:11 UTC