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Israeli Annexation of the Golan Heights (1981)

A law enacted by the Knesset on 15 December 1981, by a vote of 63 For, 21 Against, by the initiative of Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and his government. The law unilaterally extended Israeli jurisdiction and administration to the Golan Heights. This effectively constituted an annexation of the territory that was occupied from Syria during the 1967 Six Day War, except for a small portion detached from it as part of the 1974 Israel-Syria Disengagement Agreement. Two days later, UN Security Council Resolution 497 declared the law “null and void”. The majority of the international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and continues to consider it occupied Syrian territory.