Israel’s intention is to double the number of settlers in the occupied Golan.
On Sunday, the Israeli government approved a plan to double the number of residents in the occupied Golan Heights.
Israel occupied the Golan in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981. Except for the United States, the international community considers the occupation illegal.
– We hold on to it, let it flourish and populate it, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
In 2019, then-President of the United States Donald Trump declared US support for Golan annexation to Israel. Netanyahu discussed the situation in Syria with Trump on Saturday.
– We have no interest in a conflict with Syria, Netanyahu said.
The government’s plans to double the settlement of the Golan came to light when the government unanimously approved a lump sum of more than nine million euros for the settlement plan.
About 31,000 Israelis now live in the occupied Golan. There are also about 24,000 Druze who consider themselves Syrian.
AP, Reuters