Human Rights Watch: Israel is on the verge of committing war crimes in the Golan
Human Rights Watch has warned that Israel's new plan to expand settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan is "a clear indication of an intention to commit war crimes," arguing that the project is part of a systematic policy to change the demographic reality in the occupied territories.
The Israeli government's April 17 approval of a $334 million plan to relocate thousands of Israelis to the Golan reveals an official trend to expand existing settlements, including one established in 1977, with a stated goal of bringing in some 3,000 settler families by 2030, the organization said in a report released on Wednesday.
'A clear breach of international law'
Heba Ziadeen, the organization's senior researcher on Syria, said that the allocation of public funds to this project reflects a "clear intention to commit grave violations," stressing that the transfer of the civilian population to occupied territories "represents a clear violation of international humanitarian law" and compounds the suffering of Syrians who have been displaced for decades.
Ziadin added that the plan comes in the broader context of Israeli settlement expansion, whether in the Golan Heights or the West Bank, in light of what she described as "the continued state of impunity," considering that the lack of firm international reactions encouraged Israel to pursue these policies.
The organization called on the European Union, the United Kingdom and other countries to take practical measures, including the suspension of trade agreements with Israel and a ban on economic dealings with illegal settlements, whether in the Golan Heights or the occupied Palestinian territories.
The report noted that this call comes in light of internal European reviews that have shown indications of Israel's violation of the provisions of the Association Agreement, especially with regard to respect for human rights, without translating these reviews into executive steps.
Gap between declared positions and implementation
The settlement plan coincides with an Israeli military escalation in southern Syria, where Israeli forces expanded their deployment beyond the 1974 disengagement line, established new military positions, and carried out ground and air operations in Quneitra, Daraa and Suwayda governorates.
She said her teams documented serious violations during these operations, including the forced displacement of villagers, the detention of families at gunpoint, and the forced departure of civilians from their homes without being allowed to take their belongings, before bulldozers destroyed homes and razed agricultural land.
Since occupying the Golan in 1967, Israel has prevented displaced Syrians from returning to their land, and destroyed hundreds of villages and farms, in constant violation of international law, the report said, noting that current policies represent "an extension of a long approach of forced change of population reality."
The organization concluded that the continuation of international economic engagement with the settlements, despite international legal provisions calling for an end to the occupation and the prevention of demographic change, reflects "a large gap between the declared positions and the actual implementation", which contributes to the consolidation of the reality of the occupation on the ground.
$334 million to build Israel's first city in the Golan
On April 16, the Israeli occupation government approved a five-year plan worth one billion shekels, equivalent to about $334 million, with the aim of transforming the settlement of "Katzrin" into the first Israeli city in the occupied Syrian Golan, by building thousands of new housing units and expanding infrastructure and services.
Israeli sources said that the plan includes the recruitment of approximately 3,000 new families through the development of the education and health sectors, including the establishment of a university branch and a veterinary hospital, within the framework of the policy of attracting settlers and strengthening the "Israeli demographic bloc" in the area, as described by them, adding that the plan includes the establishment of two new settlements with two temporary names, "Asif" and "Matar", with a total of up to 12,000 housing units, which exposes the Israeli intentions to increase the number of settlers in an unprecedented way since Occupation of the Golan.
In an unprecedented development, the town of Hadar witnessed, on Wednesday, April 22, an incident of border penetration by dozens of Israeli settlers who infiltrated into the town and climbed on the roofs of houses waving the Israeli flag, and despite the symbolic nature of the operation, it reflects, according to local sources, the expansionist ambitions of settler groups seeking to transfer their activity from inside the occupied Golan to the depths of the liberated Syrian territories.
Suva Road 53
About 6 months before the fall of the former regime, the Israeli occupation forces established trenches and earthen berms along the barbed wire from north to south of the western side, within the buffer zone, with the aim of establishing a military road that would serve their movements in the area.
The project is part of a military expansion along the border strip with the occupied Golan, and aims to facilitate the movement of military vehicles within Syrian territory near the border.
Work on the road began in mid-2022, with the entry of an Israeli military force into Syrian territory, including 6 Merkava tanks and two military bulldozers, accompanied by a number of soldiers to monitor the border and vehicles, according to local correspondents in Quneitra governorate.
The depth of work inside Syrian territory is at least about 100 meters, while in some areas it reaches a depth of one kilometer, where bulldozers are paving the road and bulldozing land along the route.