The Israeli looting of the Golan’s natural resources and agricultural goods has not stopped for a day since the military occupation and national absence for over more than half a century. The settlers seized an area of 100,000 dunums of Syrian land, used by the settlements to grow fruits and vegetables, grains and flowers, and the rest of the land was classified as natural and military reserves.

Tourism in the occupied Syrian Golan occupies the second place, which includes about 100 thousand tourist rooms, which can accommodate about one and a half million tourists annually.

The governorate of al Quneitra or Golan, south west of Syria, is 1860 square km, with al Quneitra city, as the provincial capital. The name Quneitra was derived from the Arabic word Qantara which means an arch bridge, because Quneitra is on the cross roads between Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Lebanon. The governorate has a unique diverse terrain starting by Lake Tiberias in the south 212 m below sea level which climbs up to the peak of Mt. Hermon, 2814 m above sea level in the north. This position and geography made the governorate of a special importance, geographically, historically and environmentally.

The Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan should end either by peace or otherwise. Israel has been exploiting the crisis and has contributed as a pro-terrorist groups backer to this war.

Unfortunately, the USA, a co-sponsor of Madrid Peace Process, has blindly followed and served occupation greed and schemes. Mr. Trump’s March 2019, proclamation that he “recognizes that the Golan Heights are part of the State of Israel.” is indeed a flagrant violation of all international laws and norms. The US government redrawing of maps not to mention Netanyahu’s plans to name a settlement in Golan after Trump, would never change the reality nor would diminish the Syrians’ determination as to liberate their Golan.

The bus left Damascus to the Golan with a group of young university students on board, all of them dreaming of a day when peace, stability and prosperity will prevail in the region, dreaming of a day when lovers can sit on the banks of River Jordan, whispering under willow and elm trees, birds chirping above them, and children running joyfully in the vicinity. They dream of swimming and splashing in the waters of Tiberius, with older men and women relaxing on the basalt rocks, listening to the roar of waterfalls, while ailing people bath in the sulfurous water of al-Hemma. They were dreaming of a day when students flock to natural sites and historical places to enjoy their beauty and cultural importance, where men and women ski on the snows of Mt. Hermon, while shepherds graze their sheep in the green meadows and play their flutes.

The Golan was always in the heart of the Levant, a unifying element of its countries and a center of interaction between civilizations. Old man settled it, and Jesus Christ crossed it bearing the banners of love. Its stones are witnesses to the victories of the battles of Yarmouk, Hattin and Ein Jalout .The bus crossed the villages along the road, one after another, to stop at a junction already made by River

al'Aawaj (The Winding River). The guide started: "We are in the refugees camp of Khan al-Sheeh. The Khan was built by the Memlouks as a hotel on the road between Damascus, Jerusalem and Cairo". "I see houses not tents". Reem Said. "True" The guide smiled at the young lady and continued:" First it was a camp set by Palestinian refugees, after Israel had occupied their country and expelled them from their homes in 1948. Year after year the camp became a shanty town, but Palestine is still nesting in the heads of refugees.

PRAGUE, (ST) _ Stanislav Grospic, the Head of the Czech Parliamentary Group for Friendship with Syria, affirmed that Israeli Attacks against the Syrian territories represent a blatant violation of the international law, aiming at hindering the war launched by Syria against terrorism.

In a statement to SANA correspondent in Brague, Grospic condemned the recent Israeli rocket attack on Tal Braiqa in the western countryside of Quneitra, pointing out that such acts of aggression represent a disregard of the international law on one hand and an attempt to hinder Syria’s efforts against terrorism on the other hand.

Grospic reiterated that the continued occupation of the Syrian Golan by “Israel” is a blatant violation of the international law, adding that the Israeli ideology is based on the racism and hostility and the attempts to impose hegemony, in addition to breaching the international laws.

Raghda Sawas