Shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration on Sunday that the Golan Heights “will forever remain in Israel’s hands,” presidential contender Sen. Ted Cruz (R – Texas) released a statement supporting Netanyahu’s stance.

Today, the government of Israel reiterated the reality that the Golan Heights are part of Israel’s sovereign territory. Given the presence of hostile terrorist organizations ranging from ISIS to Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border, it is foolhardy and dangerous for elements in the international community to try to pressure Israel to abandon the Golan to the chaos engulfing Syria. The path to peace cannot involve Israel’s abdication of its own security.

I applaud Prime Minister Netanyahu’s courage in standing up for the safety of his people. America stands with you.

Cruz’s concern about terrorist groups on Israel’s northern border echoes an observation by former State Department official Aaron David Miller, who wrote in The Wall Street Journal last October that if Israel had ceded the Golan to Syria, it “would have faced a hot front confronting Hezbollah, Iran, and a range of Islamist jihadis,” which may have forced Israel into greater involvement in the Syrian civil war.

Legal scholar Peter Berkowitz, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, argued in RealClearPolitics in February that Israel’s possession of the Golan was “lawful and just” and should be supported by the United States and the international community.

[Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr ]