41 Years Since Illegal Annexation Of Golan

Editorials

Today marks the forty first anniversary of the annexation of the Golan  and as in every year the people of the Golan gather themselves and march in rejection of this decision -they march even at the risk of being arrested or shot at  and in defiance of Israel’s attempts to sabotage history and demography.

For on December 14, 1981, the Israeli Knesset approved the so-called “Golan Law,” which is the decision to annex the Golan, according to which “the Israeli law, judiciary, and administration were imposed on the Golan.” However, the UN Security Council responded quickly to the Israeli move by adopting  Resolution No. 497 on December 17, 1981, in which it considered  Israel’s decision to annex the Golan Heights as null and void and having no legal effect at the international level. The Security Council called on Israel to immediately rescind that decision. Dozens of resolutions were issued by the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council confirming the invalidity of the decision to annex the Golan and calling on Israel to end its occupation of it, but Israel, as usual, did not implement any of these decisions, just as all other resolutions related to the Arab-Israeli conflict were not implemented due to the protection of some countries for Israel,so contravening  International humanitarian law and the Charter of the United Nations.

Golan is Syrian Arab land located in the far southwest of Syria along its borders with Palestine. Its total area is estimated at 1860 km2.It has an elongated shape from north to south. The geographical location of the Golan is of great importance, making it a transit area for caravans, armies and peoples since ancient times, and a scene of constant conflict throughout the ages.  Mount Hermon is located in the northern Golan, separating it from the southern Bekaa Valley in Lebanon. In the south, the Yarmouk Valley separates the Golan Heights from the Ajloun Heights and northwestern Jordan. In the west, the Golan overlooks the Hula Plain and Lake Tiberias. Wadi Al-Raqqad is located in the east between the Golan Heights and the Hauran region. The Golan Heights is of varying height, reaching 2500 m in the northern Golan and 15 m in the south. Below sea level in the Al-Bateha area, where it reaches 200 meters below sea level, and to 125 meters in Al-Hamma, south of the Golan. Thus there is a  gradual decrease in the surface of the Golan Heights from the north towards the south. The climate of the Golan is classified as humid and mountainous. The Golan is considered part of the subtropical region with high or medium annual temperatures and rates, which creates a distinct climate diversity that ranges between cold, moderate and hot..

Its winters are colder than in most other regions of Syria throughout the year. Despite the high amount of annual rainfall, there are no rivers in the Golan, with the exception of the Banias River. The Golan is rich in groundwater, but the land of the Golan only benefits from it to a limited extent.The Golan has been inhabited since ancient times, and different civilizations (Canaanite, Aramaic, and Islamic) succeeded in it. The Islamic conquest preceded the existence of two emirates, the Nabataeans and Ghassanids. Many places in it are named after those civilizations, which are indicated by the meanings of some words, such as:

Majdal: is an Arabic Canaanite word meaning tower or castleAl-Himma: means the hot springFiq: Its origin is in the Canaanite word wake up, which means strength.Hermon: Its origin is Aramaic, and it is called Mount Hermon, meaning the HolyBaqaya: Its origin is Aramaic and means the flat area of the land.

The Zionist expansionist ambitions in and around Palestine, especially the Golan Heights, are confirmed by old and new Zionist documents and statements. David Ben-Gurion drew his vision of the State of Israel in a document drawn up in 1918, in which he stated: “The borders of the Jewish state must include the entire Negev and part of the Sanjak (province) of Damascus and the districts of Quneitra, Wadi Anjar and Hasbaya.Israel occupied the Golan during its aggression against the Arab countries on the fifth of June 1967 and worked since the first day of its occupation to change its geographical and demographic features, by destroying its villages and farms, establishing and encouraging settlement, displacing its population and tampering with its antiquities through excavations and excavations. It also extended its full control over all its water sources (which represented 14% of Syria’s water reserves before June 4, 1967), planted mines in agricultural areas and around populated areas, and turned many sites and villages into military sites

After the Sixth of October 1973 war and the war of attrition that followed, Syria and Israel signed the Disengagement Agreement in 1974, according to which the city of Quneitra was returned to Syrian sovereignty after the Israeli occupation forces carried out a complete and barbaric destruction of the city. The following are some data and figures related to the situation in the Golan since the occupation: – The area of the Golan (Quneitra Governorate) is 1860 km..

– The area occupied in the aftermath of the 1967 aggression is 1,250 square kilometers.– The area liberated in 1974 is about 100 square kilometers.– The remaining area under Israeli occupation is 1,150 square kilometers-The population of the Golan, according to the 1966 census, is (153) thousand people.-The population of the area occupied in 1967 is (138) thousand people.– The number of people who were displaced by Israel during and after the aggression (131) thousand people, and now it has become more than 600 thousand people.– The number of the population remaining inside the occupied area in 1967 is (7) thousand people, and it has now become more than 19 thousand people.

– The number of prisoners and detainees since the year 67 until today is about (700) citizens.– The prisoners in the cells of the Israeli occupation are currently numbered in the dozens, and some of them are serving long sentences of up to (37) years.– The number of villages in the Golan is (164) villages and (146) farms, and two cities are Quneitra and Wafik.– The number of villages that fell under occupation (137) villages and (112) farms, in addition to the cities of Quneitra and Wafik.– The number of villages whose population remained 6: Majdal Shams, Masada, Baqatha, Ain Quniyah, Ghajar and Sahita.– The number of settlements in the Golan Heights (45) scattered on the ruins of the Syrian Arab villages destroyed by Israel.– The number of Israeli settlers in the Golan Heights is 20,000.

-The number of injuries since 1967 is /531/, including /202/ deaths, most of them children, and there are /329/ people with permanent or double disabilities.

The Israeli occupation destroyed more than (131) villages, (112) farms and two cities in the years 1971-1972. The residents of Sahita were displaced to Masada, and the occupation destroyed the village and turned it into a camp. There are (76) minefields in the occupied Golan, and there are about two million mines of deadly types and cluster bombs of various types, some of which are in or around inhabited Arab villages such as the town of Majdal Shams. There are approximately 60 Israeli army camps in the occupied Golan, one of which is in Majdal Shams, surrounded by houses on all four sides

Note: numbers and data taken from the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic.

 

Editor In Chief

Reem Haddad

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