Ted Cruz
Ted CruzReuters

US Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) on Wednesday urged the US to affirm Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

The three issued a statement after the IDF revealed that Hezbollah has established military positions in the Golan Heights in order to operate cells composed of Syrian operatives that would carry out attacks against Israel.

“Iran and Hezbollah have deployed fighters and terrorists, including those with American blood on their hands, to deepen their hold over the region. This aggression highlights the need for the United States to affirm Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights,” said the three lawmakers.

“Hezbollah’s missile arsenal and terror tunnels pose severe threats to the State of Israel. To support Israel's right to self-defense, both houses of Congress should take up our legislation establishing that it shall be the policy of the United States to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan,” they added.

In February, Sens. Cruz, Cotton, and Rep. Gallagher introduced companion bills establishing that it shall be the policy of the United States to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Earlier on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo released the 2018 Human Rights Report, which notably referred to the Golan Heights as "Israeli-controlled" instead of "Israeli-occupied," and dropped the words "occupied" and "occupation" from everything related to Judea and Samaria and Gaza for the first time.

A US administration official told Arutz Sheva, however, "Our policy regarding the Golan Heights has not changed."

"We have used a different title in the Human Rights Report to refer to the familiar geographic terms of the area where the report was written," he said.

Earlier this week, US senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that the Golan Heights should remain "forever" under the control of Israel as he toured the Golan Heights with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

The comment raised the ire of Syria, which said Graham’s remarks demonstrated "the arrogance of the US administration and how it views regional issues with Zionist eyes and with the interests of Israel" in mind.