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Israel approves plan to double population of annexed Golan
The Israeli government approved on Sunday a project aimed at doubling the population in the part of the Syrian Golan annexed by Israel, but said it had no interest in entering into conflict with Syria, after taking control of the buffer zone monitored by the UN. Only a few hours after the fall on December 8 of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, driven from power by rebels, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to seize this buffer zone controlled by the UN separating the two countries on the Golan Heights. A UN official in New York confirmed to AFP that the peacekeeping force had “noted a number of daily incidents where the Israeli army is operating east of the buffer zone”. On Sunday, the Israeli government “unanimously” approved Mr. Netanyahu’s project for “demographic development of the localities of the Golan and (the town of) Katzrin for a sum of 40 million of shekels (10.6 million euros), in light of the war and the new front in Syria and the desire to double the population of the Golan,” according to a statement from his office. “This is a decision which strengthens the localities of the Golan and the State of Israel,” added the press release. At the same time, Mr. Netanyahu stressed that his country did not wish to enter into conflict with Syria. “We have no interest in confronting Syria, we will define Israel’s policy towards Syria based on reality on the ground,” he said in a video released by his office. “Today, everyone understands the crucial importance of our presence on the Golan, and not at the foot of the Golan,” which overlooks the hills of Galilee and Lake Tiberias in northern Israel, Mr. Netanyahu said. Around 30,000 Israeli citizens live in 34 localities in the Golan annexed by Israel, to which are added 23,000 Druze, a community whose religion comes from Islam, who claim to be mostly Syrians while having the status of residents in Israel. Israel conquered part of the Golan, in southwest Syria, during the war Israeli-Arab of 1967, before annexing this territory in 1981. Only the United States, under the administration of Donald Trump, recognized this annexation in 2019. – “For eternity” -Saudi Arabia condemned on Sunday the Israeli government’s plan to double the population in the part of the Syrian Golan occupied by Israel, denouncing a “continued sabotage of opportunities to restore security and stability in Syria” after the fall Assad. For its part, Qatar deplored “a new episode in the series of Israeli aggressions on Syrian territories and a flagrant violation of international law.” Last week, Mr. Netanyahu declared that the annexed Golan would be Israeli “for eternity”. The Israeli army also seized areas beyond the buffer zone. Israel presented this action, which sparked international condemnation, as a temporary and defensive measure. In the process, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered troops to “prepare to stay” throughout the winter in buffer zone. In a video statement Sunday following a phone call with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Netanyahu said Syria had attacked Israel in the past and enabled others, including Lebanese Hezbollah , to do it from his territory.”To ensure that what happened in the past does not repeat itself, we have taken a series of intensive measures in recent days,” he said. “In a matter of days, we destroyed the capabilities that the Assad regime had built over decades,” he added. Since Assad fled, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syrian territory, also targeting more chemical weapons warehouses than the air defenses of the Syrian navy, in order to prevent the weapons from falling into the hands of rebels, according to Israeli authorities.mib-bfi/hme/rr
