According to the plan approved by the government, 7,300 housing units will be built within five years of coming in the existing colonies, as well as two new colonies, Assifty and Matar, welcoming 6,000 homes.
The Israeli government approved, Sunday, December 26, a plan to double the number of settlers in the occupied Golan, a strategic area taken at Syria in 1967 and annexed forty years ago. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced in a statement:
“The government voted in favor of an unprecedented investment plan in the Golan to double the Israeli population.”
At the end of a Council of Ministers’ exceptionally on the Golan Plateau, the Government agreed to this plan, the cost of which will rise to a billion shekels (about 280 million euros).
7,300 housing units constructed in five years
Depending on the plan, 7,300 housing units will be built within five years to the existing colonies, as well as two new colonies, Assifty and Matar, welcoming 6,000 homes. This should make it possible to add a total of 23,000 Israeli inhabitants to the current population of the Golan.
About 25,000 Israeli settlers live today on the Golan Plateau alongside some 23,000 Druzes, who are claiming mostly Syrian while having the status of residents in Israel. The plan also includes investments in infrastructure, medical and educational systems, as well as aid for farmers and manufacturers.
Very popular destination for the holidays by the Israelis, the Golan plateau is home to many attractions, which will be supported by the authorities, who want to strengthen this region. “The need to strengthen, develop and live this region is common to us,” said Bennett, who is at the head of a heterogeneous coalition (right, center, left, Arabic).
Strategic territory for both countries
The Golan Plateau, conquered by Israel at Syria during the 1967 war was annexed on 14 December 1981. It is a strategic territory for both countries, which are always technically at war. Rich in water, it overlooks Galilee and Tiberiaus lake on the side controlled by Israel and the road to Damascus on the Syrian side.
In March 2019, former US President, Donald Trump, had signed a decree formally recognizing the sovereignty of Israel on the Golan Plateau, a breakthrough decision with the position of the United States for decades. Syria had denounced a “flagrant impairment” to his sovereignty.
“It goes without saying that the Golan plateau is Israeli,” said Sunday Mr. Bennett, stressing “the importance” of “the recognition of Mr. Trump and the fact that the administration of Joe Biden has clarified. that there was no change in this policy. “.
In February, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Golan was “very important for the security of Israel”, but that “the questions of legality [were] of another order”.
In June 2019, a new colony was inaugurated on the annexed part of the Golan plateau, called “Ramat Trump” – the “Trump Hill” in Hebrew – in honor of Donald Trump.