Trump reverses US policy, endorsing Israeli control of Golan Heights

Washington: President Donald Trump endorsed permanent Israeli control of the disputed Golan Heights, saying on Thursday that the area seized from Syria in the 1967 Arab war is "of critical strategic and security importance" to Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pressed the United States to formally recognise Israel's annexation of the land, including making a public appeal for US help as he welcomed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Jerusalem on Wednesday.