WASHINGTON, March 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed a proclamation recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, territory that Israel seized from Syria in 1967.

The proclamation said that it is "appropriate to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights" because of the security need of Israel.

"This was a long time in the making," Trump said before signing the decree at the White House with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu standing alongside.

Netanyahu welcomed Trump's move and called the recognition "historic."

Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in a war in 1967 and annexed it in the 1980s, but the international community has never recognized the move.