A senior Trump administration official described Israel’s modern borders as being drawn along “illusory” lines during wide-ranging remarks in which he also raised doubt over the survival of some Middle Eastern nation-states, blamed Europe for carving up the region over the past decade and offered praise for the Ottoman Empire.
The official made the remarks during a background briefing discussing President Trump signing an Executive Order on Monday lifting sanctions on Syria, and the administration’s efforts to establish diplomatic ties between the new Syrian government and Israel.
“The lines that were drawn at 1948 and 1926 and 1967 and 1974 are all illusions. [the lines were drawn] based on facts that were there at the time,” the senior official said, describing Trump’s diplomatic efforts to foster mutual trust in a region with frequent border clashes.
The dates 1948, 1967 and 1974 all relate to wars Israel won, expanding its territory. It’s war of Independence, the Six-Day-War, in which it captured the Golan Heights from Syria, and the Yom Kippur War. The official was responding to a question critical of the administration's recognizing Israeli control over territory it seized during conflict.
Israeli officials have said it will not return the Golan Heights to Syria as part of any peace deal and has expanded its presence in Syria since the fall of ousted Syrian President Bashar al Assad. Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights during his first term.
“How do we just get to cessation of hostilities without reinventing these points of view that never worked for 100 years? And that starts with a kind of Sinai type of agreement that existed between Israel and Egypt in the past and saying, like, why don't we stop fighting about what the line is?” the official continued.
Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula in 1982 as part of a peace treaty with Egypt.
The official, whose identity is being withheld under the terms of the background call, was later asked to clarify remarks on how the Trump administration wants the borders of Israel to look.
The official said the administration has “no interest in defining the borders, the boundaries, the blue line, the red line, the green line, the '67 agreement, the '74 agreement, the '79 agreement, as amended, the side letters, it goes on forever.”
“What needs to happen is a meeting of the minds between the combatants, and if we can usher and help in that regard, we'll do it,” the official said.
“Let's talk about how we coexist and what the issue is, and what we have to do is build trust. They just have to build trust day by day. It's not really the line, it's who's threatening each other and facing each other over that line, and that's the issue is: It doesn't matter what the line is, if you don't trust each other on the other side of the line, that's going to continue forever.”
Israel is distrustful of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a U.S.-designated terrorist who succeeded in overthrowing the murderous regime of Assad.
Israel has occupied Syria’s Golan Heights since seizing the territory in the 1967 Six-Day-War, and moved beyond the ceasefire line with the fall of Assad. Israel has also carried out military attacks across Syria and in Damascus against what it says are threats to its security.
The official further raised criticism over the durability of “nation states” and referred to criticisms of “how the ugly hand of the West” had divided up the Middle East, mentioning the Sykes-Picot and the carving up of the Ottoman Empire into the territories of British and French control and influence.
“Ottoman Empire did not exist in nation states, right? ...They had a centralized government, but they allowed each of the regions to operate independent in an appellate system. So where we're going can be something new, the nation states haven't worked very well,” the official said.
The Ottoman Empire lasted for over 600 years but fell apart with its World War I defeat in 1922. Modern-day Turkey was established in 1923.
“I don't think the nation state concept is a concept that stays for hundreds of years, makes sense. But in this regard, what the president is just trying to do, what he does best, to get to the cessation of hostilities, find peace and prosperity and hope for all these people to start a dialogue,” the official said.
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