☰
HomeLiving Beyond BordersGZERO WorldSignalIn 60 SecondsPuppet RegimeGZERO World PodcastContact UsAbout UsCareersPrivacy PolicyTerms

GOLAN GOALS: NETANYAHU GETS A BOOST FROM TRUMP

March 26, 2019
Willis Sparks
and
Alex Kliment

Yesterday afternoon, US President Donald Trump scrapped five decades of US policy by officially recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a swath of water-rich, strategically important land seized from Syria when the two countries went to war in 1967.

The biggest beneficiary of the move is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was standing by President Trump's side as he signed the order.

The US decision will give Bibi a boost ahead of his bid to win re-election next month. After all, securing US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Golan has long been a symbolic goal for Israeli politicians.

Netanyahu needs all the help he can get right now. He's running against a strong opposition alliance led by his former army chief, Benny Gantz, and he's facing multiple corruption investigations.

Recent days have brought two more challenges. First, a rocket fired from Gaza on Monday struck a house in central Israel, injuring seven people. Shifting the election campaign focus toward security might help the famously hardline prime minister, who cut short his DC trip to oversee Israel's response to the attack. But it could also expose him to criticism: after all, Netanyahu serves as defense minister as well as prime minister. If rockets from Gaza can still hit Israeli homes, how effective has his hardline policy been?

Second, Netanyahu faces fresh allegations that he personally profited from a transaction in which he improperly authorized the sale of advanced German-made submarines to Egypt without the approval of top military officials.

The clear signal: Trump considers Netanyahu a close ally and is doing all he can to help him win re-election. Netanyahu, for his part, has put his relationship with Trump at the center of his campaign. Will it work?

Bigger picture: Recognizing Israeli sovereignty over Golan sets a welcome precedent for other countries maintaining occupations that are illegal under international law. Not surprisingly, Russia leapt to make the comparison with Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web

More from GZERO Media

What’s up with Trump’s criminal cases now that he’s president-elect?

Former President Donald Trump attends court during closing arguments in his civil business fraud trial at the New York Supreme Court on Jan. 11, 2024.
John Nacion/NurPhoto via Reuters

Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election puts the country in an unprecedented position. He’s the first convicted felon to win the presidency and was elected to the nation’s highest office while facing multiple criminal cases at the federal and state level. What will happen to these criminal proceedings?

Should we rethink the global aging crisis?

- YouTube

youtu.be

The world is quietly being reshaped by a demographic time bomb: Birthrates are plummeting, and the global population is rapidly aging. By 2050, one in six people will be over 65. While the overall population is still increasing—driven by growth in developing countries like Nigeria and Pakistan—experts predict it will peak in about 60 years. The shift to depopulation will have huge implications for the future of work, healthcare, and retirement. So what can we do about it? On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the different strategies governments are using to try to get people to have more kids, particularly in East Asia, where the population crisis is severe.

In the Philippines, women are growing a forest — and financial resilience

Mastercard

The Puerto Princesa Forest Restoration Initiative is a project to plant more than 400,000 seedlings to restore Palawan forests destroyed by Super Typhoon Odette in the Philippines. It’s part of a larger global effort by the Priceless Planet Coalition, launched by Mastercard with Conservation International and the World Resources Institute, to fund the restoration of 100 million trees around the world. These projects extend beyond carbon sequestration — they’re aimed at creating economic opportunities for women in the region, enabling them to better provide for their families. Read more about how many local women and community members are leading the charge on nursery construction, maintenance, and seedling production.

The global population is aging. Is the world prepared?

- YouTube

youtu.be

Listen: The world is on the brink of one of the most fundamental demographic shifts in modern human history: populations are getting older, and birth rates are plummeting. By 2050, one in six people on Earth will be over 65, which will have a huge impact on the future of work, healthcare, and social security. On the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with Jennifer Sciubba, President & CEO of the Population Reference Bureau, to discuss declining fertility, the aging crisis, and why government efforts all over the world to get people to have more babies don’t seem to be working.

Trump’s Cabinet picks set up likely battle with GOP Senate

Republican U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz speaks at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Henderson, Nevada U.S. October 31, 2024.
REUTERS/Mike Blake

President-elect Donald Trump’s unconventional picks for a number of important Cabinet positions in his second administration have set him on a collision course with the GOP-led Senate.

Germany rejects Russian natural gas shipments

Accompanied by tugs, the LNG tanker "Hellas Diana" transports a cargo of LNG to the "Deutsche Ostsee" energy terminal.
Stefan Sauer/Reuters

While other countries in Europe still import small amounts of Russian LNG under long-term contracts, the EU broadly is looking to import more of the stuff from the growing American market.

About UsCareers PressContact Us Privacy PolicyTerms of Use
© 2020 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.