February 21, 2013

(JTA) — A New Jersey-based company was awarded the first license to drill for oil in the Golan Heights.

Genie Energy of Newark was given permission recently to search for petroleum in the territory, Reuters reported Thursday, citing industry sources.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and officially annexed it in 1981 in a move condemned by the United Nations. The territory’s status was a major topic of negotiation in several rounds of peace talks with Damascus.

One Genie division is involved in developing oil shale fields in Colorado and the Shfela region in central Israel.

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