Netanyahu govt approves plan to expand settlements on Israeli-occupied Golan

JERUSALAM: Israel’s government approved a plan on Sunday to expand Israeli settlements on the Golan Heights it occupies, saying it had acted “in light of the war and the new front facing Syria” and out of a desire to double the Israeli population on the Golan.

“Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in the statement.

Earlier, Israel told the United Nations Security Council that it has taken “limited and temporary measures” in a demilitarised strip bordering Syria to counter any threats, particularly to residents of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

“It is important to emphasise, however, that Israel is not intervening in the ongoing conflict between Syrian armed groups; our actions are solely focused on safeguarding our security,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon wrote in a letter to the 15-member council.

He said Israel remained committed to the framework of a 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement.

Earlier, Israel ordered its forces to create a “sterile defence zone” in southern Syria that would be enforced without a permanent Israeli presence as it tightens its hold along the line between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.

He gave no details but said the zone, would “prevent the establishment and organization of terror in Syria” after the collapse of the government of President Bashar al-Assad at the weekend ended over five decades of his family’s rule.

“We will not allow this, we will not allow threats to the state of Israel,” Katz said following a visit to a naval base in the northern Israeli port of Haifa.