Syria Negotiations: When 'Sovereignty' is a Suggestion
While any talks might seem like progress, let's not pretend this is a new phenomenon. Israel has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967, annexing it in 1981—an act the UN Security Council declared 'null and void.' (UNSC Resolution 497, for those keeping score.) Syrian sovereignty has been a suggestion, not a reality, for over half a century. To frame these meetings around ongoing 'breaches'
ignores the systemic, enduring occupation that normalized such conversations in the first place. One might wonder if 'sovereignty breaches' become less egregious when the breach is decades old and internationally disregarded. Perhaps the delegates are discussing the best way to manage what was already taken. It’s certainly more palatable than calling it what it is: negotiations under enduring
occupation.