Tom Barak: My Statements on the Golan and Lebanon Were Misunderstood Out of Context

U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barak said his statements describing Israel's control over the Syrian Golan Heights as an "occupation" and a violation of United Nations resolutions were a description of a well-known historical context, stressing that U.S. policy has not changed.

Barak had stated on Saturday that Israel still occupies the Syrian Golan, calling it a violation of UN resolutions and all international agreements affirming that the Golan is Syrian land. This stance contradicts the position of former President Donald Trump's administration, which recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan in 2019.

The statement was initially seen as an indication of a "shift in American policy followed for decades," before Barak clarified his intent, which aligns with White House policies.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz described Barak’s statements as "filled with distortions contradicting the position of the American president," referring to Trump’s 2019 declaration recognizing U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan.

Barak explained to Al-Sharq that he referenced the United Nations in his recent statements as evidence supporting the point he was making: that "lands seized by force remain disputed for generations, and in this case for more than 50 years, and the issue remains unresolved at the UN."

He added: "I say that understandings reached through negotiation, not maps, are what endure. The mention of the UN was not an endorsement of its position. U.S. policy on the Golan was set by President Donald Trump in 2019, and there has been no change since."

Clarification on Lebanon and Hezbollah

Regarding Lebanon, Barak emphasized that "the United States negotiates with the Lebanese government as the sole legitimate authority," noting that the framework signed in Washington on June 26 with the government offers a historic opportunity to achieve peace and prosperity in Lebanon.

Barak sparked controversy after comments made during a Friday interview published on the platform X with Australian-Lebanese activist Mario Noufal, in which he stated that Lebanese-Israeli negotiations lack a decision-making party, asserting that the actual decision-makers are "Iran and Hezbollah," and insisting that "any serious settlement in Lebanon must include both Hezbollah and Iran."

Thus, the U.S. envoy concluded that "any serious settlement in Lebanon requires the presence of Hezbollah and Iran at the negotiating table, and the U.S. negotiation team is now seeking to involve them in the process."

In response to a question from Al-Sharq about the implications of his controversial remarks, Barak said: "My point was that implementing the June framework requires a direct confrontation with the issue of who holds the weapons and who supplies them. I was describing the difficulty of the problem, not proposing a new negotiation table. Hezbollah is designated a foreign terrorist organization. We do not negotiate with them, and nothing I said suggests otherwise. My statements should be read in their full context."

He continued: "In this context, I raised questions that any impartial observer should ask. The weapons in question are supplied and funded by Iran. Iran and Hezbollah are not at the negotiation table—what ultimately drives them to act? How can Hezbollah accept disarming? And who, other than Tehran, supports southern communities so that the political cover provided by the group’s arsenal can be replaced with something better?"

Barak noted that "raising these questions does not grant any party legitimacy or status. Rather, it is a fundamental precondition for answering them—and answering these questions is precisely what the framers of the framework are working to achieve."