Colombia Recognizes “Israeli” Claim to Occupied Golan Heights

By Staff, Agencies

Colombia has become the second country in the world, after the United States, to recognize “Israeli” sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, the Colombian Foreign Ministry said Monday.

The ministry said the decision was based on the Golan’s “strategic importance” to “Israel’s” security and its claimed right to defend itself against external threats.

The measure was issued under an agreement with “Israel” on August 8, one day after the inauguration of President Abelardo de la Espriella.

The move comes as little surprise given de la Espriella’s pledge to restore diplomatic relations with "Israel".

It also coincides with renewed condemnations from outgoing President Gustavo Petro that “Israeli” entities interfered in Colombia’s presidential election.

Petro stated that “Israeli”-developed software, financed through cocaine-trafficking proceeds to the United States and private “Israeli” intelligence funds, was used to alter vote counts in favor of right-wing candidate de la Espriella.

He noted that the software had been installed in private companies handling election results and may have changed up to 1.8 million votes.

According to Petro, left-wing candidate Ivan Cepeda won based on ballots cast at polling stations, but a different result was ultimately announced. He described the use of the software as a violation of Colombia’s sovereignty.

Meanwhile, the Golan Heights remain internationally disputed. Syria held sovereignty over the territory until “Israeli” forces occupied it during the 1967 Six-Day War. Following the 1973 October War, the two sides reached an armistice and disengagement agreement, with UN peacekeeping positions established there in 1974.

In March 2019, then-US President Donald Trump formally recognized the Golan as part of "Israel", making Washington the first foreign government to do so. Most UN Security Council members subsequently expressed regret and reaffirmed that the territory remains occupied Syrian land.

In 2025, Syria’s Foreign Ministry stressed that participation in talks over technical security matters did not amount to abandoning Damascus’ claim to the occupied Golan. It reiterated that “the Golan will remain Syrian land” and that there is no legitimacy for the “Israeli” occupation, while thanking countries supporting a UN General Assembly resolution calling for an end to the occupation.

At the same time, “Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a visit to a hospital treating soldiers wounded in clashes in southern Syria, described the territory as essential to the security of settlers. He said any future agreement would require a demilitarized buffer zone extending from Damascus toward the Golan, including areas around Mount Hermon.

Syria has nevertheless indicated it remains open to negotiations. In April, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Damascus could consider “long-term negotiations” with “Israel” over the Golan if “Israeli” forces withdraw from recently seized Syrian territory.

The remarks followed the collapse of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024, after which “Israeli” forces moved into the UN-patrolled buffer zone separating Syrian and “Israeli” military positions.

Al-Sharaa said Syria was seeking either to revive the existing disengagement agreement or reach a new arrangement guaranteeing security for both sides.

Meanwhile, “Israel” has continued advancing settlement expansion in the occupied territory. In late April, the “Israeli” cabinet approved a $334 million plan to expand the settlement of "Katzrin", established in 1977, with the stated aim of relocating 3,000 new “Israeli” settler families to the Golan by 2030.

The plan includes housing, infrastructure, public services and academic and medical facilities.

Human Rights Watch warned that the settlement expansion amounts to a clear intent to commit war crimes, with its Syria researcher Hiba Zayadin saying permanent population transfer into Syrian territory violates international norms and has serious implications for displaced Syrians.