US Ambassador Tom Barrack, who also serves as Washington's envoy for Syria, has walked back a remark in which he appeared to acknowledge that Israel occupies the Golan Heights (a strategic plateau seized by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, annexed in 1981, and recognised as Israeli territory by the Trump administration in 2019) in violation of international law. In a statement to the Associated Press on Sunday, Barrack said US policy on the Golan "was set by President Trump in 2019 and is unchanged," after his earlier podcast comments — that Israel "still occupy the Golan against the UN resolutions, against all of the international order" — drew sharp criticism from Republican figures including Senator Rick Scott and far-right commentator Laura Loomer. The episode is significant because the US remains virtually alone among major powers in recognising Israeli sovereignty over the territory, and any perceived wavering risks reopening a debate over a policy that legal experts have warned undermines the post-World War II prohibition on acquiring land by force.