The UN condemned Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights: the US voted against it for the first time

The United States of America (USA) voted today for the first time against the UN resolution condemning the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights.

And although the resolution was adopted easily in the UN General Assembly with 151 votes "for" and only two "against", the American position represents a change in policy that could have consequences in the future, Israeli media commented.

The US has previously abstained from voting on such a document.

The only other country that voted against the resolution was Israel.

Israeli leaders are lobbying the administration of US President Donald Trump and the US Congress to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the strategic Golan.

For now, the administration says it is not considering such a move, but today's vote by the world body could signal a change.

As noted, today's vote was against because the resolution is "clearly biased against Israel" and does not mention the position on sovereignty.

On Twitter, the US mission to the UN announced in advance that "the US will no longer hold back when the UN engages in the useless annual vote on the Golan Heights".

"The resolution is simply biased against Israel, we will vote no on Friday," the mission announced.

The government of Israel thanked the Trump administration and especially US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley for such a stance.

The US press release stated that in light of the tension on the Syrian border, there is no justification for supporting such a move and that "the crimes (of the Syrian regime) prove the lack of ability to govern anyone", with the assessment that Iran's presence inside Syria represents "a major threat to the international security" and that "ISIS (Islamic State) and other terrorist groups remain in Syria".

"That resolution does nothing to bring either side closer to a peace agreement," the statement concluded.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dani Danon thanked Haley for the decision to vote against the "despicable resolution" and that "it is time for the world to distinguish between those who destabilize the region and those who sow terror," as he wrote on Twitter.

Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Gilad Erdan pointed out that the Golan is part of Israel and always will be.

"No sane person thinks the Golan will return to the murderous Assad and the Iranian regime trying to establish a 'Syrian Hezbollah' in the region," he tweeted, referring to the extremist Hezbollah in Lebanon.

And the leader of the Israeli opposition party "There is a Future" (Yesh Atid) Yair Lapid thanked Haley, repeating that the Golan is part of Israel and that it is time for the rest of the world to also recognize that reality, as he wrote on Twitter.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in October that the Golan remains under Israel's sovereignty because otherwise "Iran and Hezbollah will be sitting on the shores of the Sea of ​​Galilee."

Israel won the Golan in the 1967 war and later annexed it, which the international community has never recognized. Netanyahu believes that Israel on the Golan Heights is a guarantee of the stability of the surrounding area.