Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemned the Israeli project on Sunday, denouncing «sabotage continu» et “a flagrant violation of international law”.
The Israeli government approved this Sunday a project aimed at doubling the population in the part of the Syrian Golan annexed by Israel, but says it has no interest in entering into conflict with Syria. Just 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.
On Sunday, the Israeli government approved “unanimously” Benjamin Netanyahu’s project to “demographic development of the localities of the Golan and (the town of) Katzrin for a sum of 40 million 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 press release from his office. “This is a decision that strengthens the localities of the Golan and the State of Israel.adds the press release.
“No interest in confronting Syria”
“We have no interest in confronting Syria, we will define Israel’s policy towards Syria based on the 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 Galilee Hills and Lake Galilee 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, most of whom claim to be Syrian while having the status of residents in Israel. Israel conquered part of the Golan, in southwest Syria, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, before annexing the territory in 1981. Only the United States, under the administration of Donald Trump, recognized this annexation in 2019.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar condemn Israeli occupation
Saudi Arabia on Sunday condemned 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 of 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 the action, which drew international condemnation, as a temporary and defensive measure. In the process, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered troops to “prepare to stay” all winter in the buffer zone. In a video statement on Sunday following a phone call with US President-elect Donald Trump, Netanyahu said Syria had attacked Israel in the past and enabled others, including Lebanese Hezbollah, to do so. from its territory.
“To ensure that what happened in the past does not happen again, 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’s flight, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syrian territory, targeting both chemical weapons warehouses and Syrian navy air defenses, in order to prevent the weapons from falling into the hands of rebels, according to Israeli authorities.
