Israeli Expansionist Scheme

The Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights does not only represent a geographical strategic dimension as it overlooks four Arab countries, but is also important because the Golan represents one of the most important sources of energy and water.. The occupation obtains a third of its water needs from the Golan, which is rich in rivers, springs, and groundwater, as well as the accumulation of snow on its mountains. Also for years, oil exploration has been underway, which studies indicate is abundant and commercial.

Today, in addition to occupying the land and depleting its underground resources, Israel plans to exploit the air, by building giant wind turbines, to generate electricity from wind energy – a project called clean energy.In reality it constitutes the confiscation of the rest of the lands of the Golanis which have been under siege for a long time , to make way for the development of settlement projects and so giving Israel full control of the Golan.

In the last decade, Israel›s desire for expansion in the Golan Heights and consolidation of its occupation increased. A plan was drawn up to increase the number of settlements and settlers there (from 20,000 to 250,000 by 2030).Military points were also increased.A new border strip was established on the ceasefire line, and a law was passed which aims to oblige the people of the Golan to register their lands with the Israeli entity. Local council elections were held for the first time in 2018 (the participation rate reached 1%).

All of these projects were faced by the people of the Golan to the best of their ability, with the minimum capabilities they have (as they have been rendered nearly helpless by Israel). They boycotted them, suspended them and emptied them of their contents. They maintained a partial independence that lasted for 5 decades, in order to preserve the Syrian Arab identity, opposing the push for Judaization projects and the enemy’s constant endeavor to displace them or to integrate them into Israeli society completely.

The most recent example of this was in early March hundreds when residents of the Golan villages demonstrated at the shrine of the Prophet Al-Yafouri against the wind turbine project that the Israeli occupation is seeking to implement to produce electric power. Residents of the Golan while demonstrating declared their categorical rejection of this project and said that they are sending a message to the Netanyahu government stating that establishing the project by force is equivalent to declaring war on the existence and future of the people of the Golan .

Editor – in – Chief

Reem Haddad