That Israel has awarded its first license to drill for oil on the occupied Golan Heights to a US energy company is illegal, as unlawful as was the capture of the territory in 1967 and later its annexation. It's bad enough that over the decades the strategic plateau has been extensively settled by Israelis; now, Israel would like to get its hands on Syrian oil, a decision liable to have far-reaching political repercussions. The license was awarded to Genie Energy, which is headed by none other than Golan Heights resident and former IDF general and hawkish Likud Cabinet minister Effi Eitam, who fought against Syria in the 1973 war. The company's shareholders, reports say, include Lord Jacob Rothschild and media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and one of the company's advisers is former US Vice President Dick Cheney. The troika are all linked in one way or another with important Jewish enterprises. Oil permits for the area were stopped 20 years ago during Israel-Syria talks, which were to include a potential return of the Golan. Israel was afraid at that time that drilling for oil on the Golan Heights might undermine future possible agreements. The talks never produced a peace deal, leaving the door wide open for Israel to start its search for oil. After Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981, it ruled that under the so-called Israeli Petroleum Law — the law that governs the exploration and production of gas and oil in Israel — exploratory drilling for the highly valued resource could be carried out in the region. But again, Israel's dream bubble burst when rumors of renewed drilling under the first Netanyahu administration in 1996 were met with Syrian objections. Drilling never went forward. And now, as the two-year Syrian uprising has significantly eroded Damascus' military and overall fighting power, Israel smells blood and sees a golden opportunity that it feels it must seize. With the Syrian revolt now threatening President Bashar Al-Assad's rule, Israel is digging in on the Golan. Past experience shows that the decision to renew drilling in the Golan Heights is likely to provoke protest on the part of Syria but the Damascus regime is so frail that its warnings will be hollow and will go unheeded. It cannot scare off Israel and as for negatively impacting any potential future negotiations, it is clear that after all these years Israel has no intention of returning the Golan Heights. On the eve of almost every high-level visit to Israel by US officials, the Israeli government has habitually angered the American government by coming up with an approval for building in the West Bank or areas in Jerusalem that belong to the Palestinians. Like settlements, the drilling permit should draw international condemnation, especially ahead of President Barack Obama's visit to Israel next month. The United States considers the Golan Heights to be Syrian territory held under Israeli occupation and subject to Israeli withdrawal. However, even though the State Department is likely to criticize the permit, this may not disrupt Obama's visit because the area is claimed by Syria and not by the Palestinian Authority. And Syria's Al-Assad is these days on America's blacklist. Up till now, the world has never recognized Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights. Awarding a drilling license on the Golan could cause an international row given the Golan's status as occupied Syrian territory under international law.
