By Zein Khalil
JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli government on Sunday unanimously approved a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to enhance Israeli settlement building in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, with a budget exceeding 40 million shekels ($11.13 million).
In a statement, Netanyahu's office said that the government unanimously approved the plan to "encourage demographic growth in Golan settlements and Katzrin, with a total cost exceeding 40 million shekels."
The Golan Heights is Syrian territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war.
Katzrin, or Qasrin, is a Syrian village occupied by Israel that was part of Syria's Quneitra province in the Golan Heights.
Netanyahu's office explained that the plan was approved "in light of the war and the new front with Syria, and out of a desire to double the population of the Golan."
"This decision strengthens the Golan settlements and includes measures such as education, renewable energy, establishing a student village, and an organizational development plan to support the Golan Regional Council in accommodating new residents," it added.
Currently, approximately 50,000 people live in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, half of whom are Israeli settlers, while the other half consists of Druze, Alawites, and others, according to the Israeli daily Haaretz.
There are 33 Jewish settlements in the occupied Golan, incorporated into what is called the Golan Regional Council.
Bashar al-Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8 after anti-regime groups seized control of Damascus. The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters captured key cities across the country in a swift offensive that lasted less than two weeks.
Taking advantage of Assad’s fall, Israel has intensified its airstrikes against military sites across Syria, in blatant violation of the country’s sovereignty.
Israel also declared the collapse of a 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria and deployed its forces within the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights, in a move widely condemned by the United Nations and several Arab nations.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala