Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (second from left) is pictured during a security and defense tour of the strategic Golan Heights region, near Israel’s northern border with Syria, in April 2016. Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO.

JNS.org – An American plan to bring the US closer to recognizing the Golan Heights was laid out last week for Israeli and American officials in Washington.

The six-point plan, proposed by a group of American legislators and spearheaded by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), calls to implement trade agreements between the United States and Israel on the Golan Heights, and formulate a letter “recognizing the changes that have taken place on the ground,” similar to a document that US President George W. Bush presented to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon prior to the 2005 disengagement, acknowledging the existence of large Israeli settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria, and saying it would be “unrealistic” to expect Israel to fully withdraw.

Last week, another initiative to cement US recognition of the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, put forth by Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), was voted down by the House of Representatives.

The current plan includes six plans of action: channeling funds into joint Israeli-American projects on the Golan Heights; expanding US-Israeli agreements, such as the free trade agreement between the two nations, to apply to the Golan Heights and labeling products manufactured or grown on the Golan as “Made in Israel;” formulating a congressional document declaring that Syria will not return to the Israeli Golan Heights; sending congressional delegations to the Golan Heights; and formulating congressional documents that recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Meanwhile, the US National Security Council issued a statement on Sunday insisting that “there has been no change to our position on the Golan Heights.”

The final document stating congressional recognition of the Golan as Israeli territory has yet to be worded. One proposal for the wording suggests that it read: “In light of the changes that have taken place on the ground, including Iranian infiltration of Syria and Lebanon, it would be unrealistic to expect Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights.”