TEL AVIV – The Israeli government has unanimously approved a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to enhance illegal Israeli settlement building in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, with a budget exceeding 40 million shekels ($11.13 million).
In a statement, Netanyahu’s office said on Sunday that the government unanimously approved the plan to “encourage demographic growth in Golan settlements and Katzrin, with a total cost exceeding 40 million shekels.”
Katzrin, or Qasrin, is a Syrian village occupied by Israel that was part of Syria’s Quneitra province in the Golan Heights.
Netanyahu’s office explained that the plan was approved “in light of the war and the new front with Syria, and out of a desire to double the population of the Golan.”
Currently, approximately 50,000 people live in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, half of whom are Israeli settlers, while the other half consists of Druze, Alawites, and others, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.
There are 33 Jewish settlements in the occupied Golan, incorporated into what is called the Golan Regional Council.
Condemnations
Saudi Arabia condemned an Israeli decision on Sunday to expand settlement building in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry reiterated the kingdom’s condemnation of Israel’s ongoing actions “to sabotage Syria’s opportunities for security and stability.”
It called on the international community to condemn the Israeli violations and emphasized the necessity “of respecting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“The Golan is an occupied Arab Syrian land,” the ministry stressed.
Earlier, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned Israel’s violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement by entering the Israel-Syria zone and continuing advance into Syrian territory.
In a statement, the ministry said, “ln this sensitive period, when there is a possibility of achieving the peace and stability that the Syrian people have been longing for for many years, Israel is once again displaying its occupying mentality. We resolutely reiterate our support for Syria’s sovereignty, political unity and territorial integrity.”
Taking advantage of Assad’s fall
Bashar al Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on December 8 after anti-regime groups seized control of Damascus. The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) fighters captured key cities across the country in a swift offensive that lasted less than two weeks.
Taking advantage of Assad’s fall, Israel has intensified its air strikes against military sites across Syria, in blatant violation of the country’s sovereignty.
Israel also declared the collapse of a 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria and deployed its forces within the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights, in a move widely condemned by the United Nations and several Arab nations. -AA
