Is Israel trying to strengthen its hold on the Golan Heights? , Golan Heights occupation news
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Since the fall of the al-Assad regime, Israel has attacked Syria to deepen its occupation of the Golan Heights.
Among the latest violations of Syrian sovereignty by Israel, including hundreds of airstrikes, is its renewed encroachment with tanks and illegal settlements in the Golan Heights.
The Golan Heights covers 1,800 square km (700 sq mi) and has been a flashpoint in the region for decades.
So what are they? What is Israel trying to do there?
Here’s what we know:
What are the Golan Heights?
The Golan Heights are in south-western Syria, about 60 km (40 mi) south of Damascus.
They are bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south and the Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias) in the west.
The Golan is spread over basalt rock with fertile land and important water sources that feed the Jordan River and the Hasbani River, which flows through the Golan from Lebanon.
Golan Heights belongs to?
The UN-recognized Golan Heights are part of Syria.
However, Israel captured the Golan during the 1967 war and currently controls 1,200 square km (463 sq mi) of the western part of the territory.
Almost immediately after Israel annexed part of the Golan, it began building illegal settlements there.
The UN-monitored buffer zone separates Israeli-occupied territory from the rest of the territory still under Syrian control.
Aren’t the settlements illegal?
Yes, they are illegal.
And yet, Israel has built more than 30 settlements in the region, where more than 25,000 Jewish Israelis live.
And it’s still signaling it wants to build more.
Late Sunday, Cabinet approved an $11 million plan to finance a plan to expand services in existing squatter settlements and bring more residents there.
It is not happening alone, as Israel is also attacking sites across Syria, claiming it is doing so in “self-defense.”
Are there any natives left in the Golan?
Sure, Druze, about 20,000.
The Druze are an ethnic religious community that lives and confines themselves in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
When Israel invaded the Golan in 1967, it violently expelled most of the Druze living there.
Has Syria ever tried to take back the Golan Heights?
Yes, but without success.
During the October War of 1973, Syria tried to retake the Golan Heights, but could not do so.
In 1974, the United Nations deployed a peacekeeping force to the region after Syria and Israel signed an armistice.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) established the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the same year to maintain the ceasefire and create a buffer zone.
As of April, 1,274 UN personnel are deployed in the Golan Heights.
What is the world’s position on the Golan Heights?
In 2019, no country other than Donald Trump’s United States recognizes Israel’s occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights.
A 1981 UNSC resolution protested the occupation and declared Israel’s rule over the Golan “null and void and without international legal effect”.
The 2019 US recognition of Israel’s presence in the Golan is still pending under the administration of President Joe Biden.
