Since the fall of the Damascus regime, Israel has massively attacked Syrian military sites and has even penetrated the buffer zone between the Golan and Syria. Benyamin Netanyahu said he wanted to “change the face of the Middle East”. And for the Prime Minister of the Hebrew State, the Golan is Israeli “for eternity”. This Syrian territory has been illegally occupied since 1967 by Israel, which also annexed it in 1981.
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With our special correspondent on the Golan Heights, Sami Boukhelifa
A metal mesh barrier, topped with barbed wire, cuts a territory in two. “ We are exactly on the ceasefire line on the edge of the village of Majdal Shams », says Yasser Khanjer. “Oofficially, this line is not a border », continues this political activist. The ceasefire line came into being in 1974, following the agreement which formally ended the Yom Kippur War between Israel and the Syrialaunched in October 1973. “ But on either side of this barrier is Syria. Over there, it’s Syria under the authority of Damascus. And this is Syria under Israeli occupation », wants to clarify this academic. Living in territory occupied and annexed by Israel changes nothing for him. He considers himself “ Syrian and only Syrian “.
With the fall of the regime of Bashar al-AssadIsrael sent its troops to the other side of this iron wall, in the demilitarized buffer zone, and in theory prohibited to both the Israeli army and the Syrian army. Yet with a bang, an Israeli army bulldozer traces a new road in this buffer zone. It is borrowed by “ the Israeli tanks and armored vehicles which took up position on the hill opposite “, denounces Yasser Khanjer. Their newly conquered positions now dominate the valley, with Damascus on the horizon.
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Officially, Benyamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli army to “ take control » of this buffer zone, of “ temporary way » and for “ security reasons “. “ Israelis are taking over land in the West Bank and Gaza. The Israelis are taking over more and more land. It’s their colonization policy : grab more and more land », exclaims the resident of Majdal Shams.
In the occupied Golan the fall of Bashar al-Assad raises hope
Despite Israeli projects, the inhabitants of the Golan occupied and annexed by Israel dream of being attached to their national home: Syria. “ Here, in Majdal Shams, we watch Syrian television, we speak Syrian Arabic, the gastronomy is Syrian, the customs and traditions are Syrian “, proudly explains Dr. Thaer Abu Salah. Coming from a large Arab family from the Golan, he claims to speak on behalf of his community: “ We are very happy with what happened in Syria. We so desperately wanted the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. It’s done “.
So from now on, he hopes for the emergence of democracy in Syria. “ Because only a democracy will manage to reimpose its sovereignty on the Golan Heights “. But this Druze Syrian Arab is worried about the Islamist ideology of the country’s new masters. “ I hope the Syrians will not make the same mistakes. The new leader, al-Joulani, renounced his nom de guerre. It’s called Al Charaa again. And he says the country belongs to all Syrians », wants to reassure Dr. Thaer Abu Salah.
In the Golan, the majority of the 27,000 Syrians are Druze. And despite the Israeli annexation of their territory, three quarters of them refused the nationality of the Jewish state.
