Translation of “Lebanon Debate”
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Syria and Iraq and the US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, caused a political earthquake in Israel, after he confirmed that the Golan Heights is Syrian territory occupied by Israel, in an exceptional American position that contradicts the Trump administration’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over it in 2019.
Barak said, during an extensive interview with social media activist Mario Novel, “Israel occupies the Golan Heights, even though United Nations resolutions have determined that it is Syrian territory.”
He added that there is an “international consensus” that the Golan is considered Syrian territory occupied by Israel, in an unusual statement issued by an American presidential envoy considered close to Trump.
Barak’s statements gain double importance, as the Trump administration, during his previous presidential term, had previously officially recognized in 2019 Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which makes the position of his envoy today a striking departure from the path adopted by Washington at the time.
Barak’s positions were not limited to the Golan file, as he touched extensively on regional tension and the danger of a direct confrontation between Israel and Turkey, against the backdrop of the raid that Syria witnessed this week.
He revealed that Israel received information indicating that Turkey might transfer military forces to a base inside Syrian territory, before transmitting this information to the United States, which verified it and was not convinced that the Turkish move was about to be implemented.
He explained that the concern did not arise from the Israeli strike alone, but also included the possibility of a Turkish response to it, especially since Ankara, like Washington, was not aware of the attack in advance.
Barak presented two possibilities to explain why Israel carried out the raid despite this: either there was a defect in coordination between the Israeli army, the Mossad, and the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or the strike was carried out with the aim of “testing the Turks at a time when Israel is witnessing an election campaign.”
The American envoy’s statements reflect the extent of concern within Washington about the escalating tension in Syria turning into a direct confrontation between Israel and Turkey, in conjunction with an exceptional American position that re-describes the Golan as Syrian territory under Israeli occupation.
