Speaking at his campaign rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Saturday, US President Trump claimed he has been called the "greatest hostage negotiator this country has ever had".
"The other day our great hostage negotiator made the statement that Trump is the greatest hostage negotiator this country has ever had", Trump said in his speech.
A day before, Trump posted a tweet saying a "Cheif [sic] Hostage Negotiator!" called him the "greatest hostage negotiator" in US history.
"20 hostages, many in impossible circumstances, have been released over the last two years. No money was paid", Trump tweeted what he said was a quote.
"So, our ambassador made the statement and the press picked it up and they were going after me, ‘It's not true,' ‘It's not true'", Trump continued. "And then he called them and he said, ‘No, it is true'".
"And instead of saying, ‘It's true,' they stopped talking about it", Trump said, referring to the media. "Fake news", he concluded.
During its time in the White House, the Trump administration has secured the release of 20 US nationals taken hostage in various parts of the world, including Afghanistan and North Korea, according to a CNN report.
"So that's been under consideration for 52 years, for 52 years they told me they'd been studying it", Trump said. "This is very important strategically for victory — heights, because you're up high — very important. Fifty-two years ago this started and I did it quickly. Done. It's all done".
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed the territory in 1981, a move that was not formally recognised by the UN and — until recently — the US.
Israel welcomed the proclamation, while Syria condemned it, calling it a "blatant attack on Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity".