The Golan Heights, a rocky plateau in south-western Syria, has a political and strategic significance which belies its size. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the closing stages of the 1967 Six-Day War. Most of the Syrian Arab inhabitants fled the area during the conflict. An armistice line was established and the region came under Israeli military control. Almost immediately Israel began to settle the Golan.

US President Donald Trump said recently it was time to back Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

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The recognition of the disputed area of Golan Heights would mark a major shift in US policy.

• Southern Syria and the capital Damascus, about 60 km (40 miles) north, are clearly visible from the top of the Heights.
• The heights give Israel an excellent vantage point for monitoring Syrian movements. The topography provides a natural buffer against any military thrust from Syria.
• The area is also a key source of water for an arid region. Rainwater from the Golan’s catchment feeds into the Jordan River. The area provides a third of Israel’s water supply.
• The land is fertile, and the volcanic soil is used to cultivate vineyards and orchards and raise cattle. The Golan is also home to Israel’s only ski resort.

Challenges posed by the recognition:

• Combined with last year’s Jerusalem declaration, the decision could encourage Israel to begin annexing territory in the West Bank. This would permanently extinguish any remaining possibility for a two-state solution.
• United Nations Resolution 242 passed immediately after 1967 war and unanimously to endorse a “land for peace” agreement that would exchange Arab peace and recognition of Israel for a return of occupied territory. Neither side wanted to act first. As a result of the diplomatic stalemate, Israel continued the occupations and began building Jewish settlements on the newly controlled lands.
• Syrians in the occupied Golan face calculated Israeli efforts to restrict their building and land use, destroy their enterprises, cleanse their Arab culture, manipulate their Syrian identity, and suffocate their freedom of movement
• The decision(to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to relocate the American embassy to the contested city) reversed decades of consistent U.S. policy that encouraged negotiations as the avenue to resolving territorial disputes, including on the status of Jerusalem.
• Palestinian leaders have since refused to meet with American officials, meaning that their voices will be notably excluded from Trump’s Middle East Peace Plan.
• Russian President may use this as a pretext to justify Russia’s annexation of Crimea. China is already claiming South China Sea. Their actions may be emboldened.
• It may also encourage Pakistan to take similar action in PoK region in India

Conclusion:

Thus, the shift in American policy would harm the Middle Eastern peace and put an end to the two-state solution. It also goes against the rule-based order of the world threatening world harmony. The possible changes in the geopolitics make it imperative for India to deal more diplomatically with the Middle East nations.