Syria condemns Israel's plan to double settlements, quadruple population In Golan Heights

Syrian Foreign Ministry on Monday, 11 October, condemned Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s plan to increase the number of Israeli settlers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. According to SANA news agency, the Syrian Ministry said that Bennett’s announcement is unable to change the “eternal fact” that Golan was and still remains an Arab and Syrian land. 

On Sunday, Bennett had said that Golan Heights is a “strategic goal,” adding that the aim of the Israeli government is to double the communities in the region and establish two new settlements. Now, Tel Aviv is expected to roll out a national plan for the area, which will be approved in at least six weeks during a cabinet meeting. The Israeli PM stated that he plans to quadruple the Israeli settler population in the Golan Heights, from 27,000 to 50,000, and then eventually increase it to 100,000 settlers. 

However, Syria condemned Bennett’s plan and noted that all measures adopted by the Israeli occupation are “null and void” and have no legal effect. It is to mention that the Golan Heights is the border region spanning about 1,800 square kilometres captured from Syria during the Six-Day War of 1967. The Syrian government has stressed that the country’s army is determined to liberate the Golan Heights from the Israeli occupation and foil the Israeli plots. 

But, Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Makor Rishon newspaper's conference that the “ Golan Heights is Israeli, full stop”.

Israeli PM's Golan Heights plan in 'national interest'

Golan heights comprise two-thirds of the geological Golan Heights and the Israeli-occupied part of Mount Hermon. The region, however, has been engulfed in conflict over territorial claims. Israel accuses the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants of infiltration attempts that make Israel's border with Lebanon conflict-prone. Several Israeli tanks and military forces patrol the Golan Heights at the country's northern frontier as Tel Aviv lays sovereign claims on the disputed territory.

As Israel plans to establish two settlements in occupied Golan Heights, Prime Minister Bennett said that the act was in the 'national interest.' Since the occupation, nearly 131,00 Syrians have been displaced from the cities of Quneitra and Fiq, and at least 137 villages and 112 farms have been expelled, as per the official Syrian figures. Currently, there are four Syrian villages under Israel, where almost 20,000 Syrians from the Druze community reside.

(Image: AP)