Israel’s next joint scientific research venture with the United States will allow for the participation of Ariel University, Israel Hayom reported on Thursday.
Located beyond the Green Line, Ariel University—like other Israeli institutions in Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights—has traditionally been excluded from such ventures. Its admission was granted following the U.S. announcement on Nov. 18 that it no longer considers Israeli settlements to be in violation of international law.
Israel’s Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis spearheaded the effort, and is expected to sign the new scientific collaboration agreement with his American counterpart in the coming weeks.
The new agreement seeks to replace a memorandum of understanding signed in 1972 by then-Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yitzhak Rabin which explicitly excluded territories seized by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War from collaborations of this nature.
Akunis told Israel Hayom that the new agreement “is a direct result of the American recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and Secretary of State Pompeo’s declaration that the settlements in Judea and Samaria do not violate international law.”
This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.