Hoisting the Syrian Flag in Liberated Quneitra
In the life of nations and people, there are many great occasions which embody their deep-rooted presence and authentic identity and promote it to continue the struggle process.
The day of hoisting the Syrian Arab flag in the liberated city of Quneitra on June 26th, 1974, is one of the everlasting days in our contemporary history. On that day, the Syrian people crowned their struggle to liberate part of the nation after October Liberation War.
On this very glorious day, the late President Hafez Al-Assad said: ”All words aren’t suffice to describe this occasion. I can say in brief that the will of the people is invincible, and the homeland is second to none. We have to pursue preparations as to expel the enemy from every span of the occupied Arab territories. I am confident in victory, future and confident that no power whatsoever can deter us from restoring our rights in full.”
The day of hosting the Syrian flag in Quneitra is the result to the Syrians’ struggle for the liberation of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. This anniversary embodies the Syrian people’s spirit of sacrifice, and determination to achieve the national and pan-Arab objectives in commitment to the noble principles consolidated by the late President Hafez Al-Assad, the builder of Modern Syria.
On the anniversary of hoisting the Syrian flag, the tragic reality of the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan and the compulsory displacement of the Syrian citizens in June 1967 can’t be ignored.
The number of the Syrians in the region occupied in 1967 was 138,000 inhabitants and the number of people displaced by Israel during and after the aggression was 131,000 Syrians, which means that only 7,000 Syrians remained in the occupied Golan. The number of the Syrians under the yoke of Israeli occupation stands now at more than 25,000 Syrians surrounded by more than 35 Israeli illegal settlements, not to mention the tens of military barracks and arms stockpiles.
In fact, the operations of compulsory displacement and building settlements pursued by the Israeli occupation in the occupied Golan is considered a war crime according to Geneva Conventions and international law. The Israeli practices in the occupied Golan flagrantly violate and contradict all international laws, human rights charters and relevant resolutions of the UNSC and General Assembly.
It is worthy to note, for example, that the UNSC issued on December 17 , 1981 resolution No. 497 stipulating that: “the decision of Israel to impose its laws and administrative authority on the occupied Syrian Golan is considered null and void”. This resolution condemns Israel’s decision to annex the Golan as an action violating principles of the International Law.
The Syrian Arab people in the occupied Golan are incessantly confronting the Israeli practices, defending their land, identity and belonging to the motherland, Syria. The Syrian people of Golan are still resisting the Israeli occupation, asserting their strong relation with their country, Syria, and expressing their national and pan-Arab identity.
The process of rebuilding the Israeli-destroyed villages of the liberated Quneitra was officially launched in March 2005 at the directives of H.E. President Bashar Al-Assad.
I Abdulkarim