UPDATED 7:46 AM EST, February 21, 2013
Israel's Energy and Water Resources Ministry said Wednesday it has issued a permit for the American-Israeli company Genie Energy to drill for oil on the plateau. The company is headed by Effi Eitam, a hawkish former Israeli Cabinet minister.
Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 but the world still considers it occupied territory.
Oil permits for the area were stopped 20 years ago during Israel-Syria talks, which were to include a potential return of the Golan. The talks never produced a peace deal.
