Israel plans to expand Golan settlements after fall of Assad
Israel's government has approved a plan to encourage the expansion of settlements, in the occupied Golan Heights
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said,
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the move was necessary because a "new front" had opened up on Israel's border with Syria after the fall of the Assad regime to an Islamist-led rebel alliance
Netanyahu said,
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"He wanted to double the population of the Golan Heights"
which Israel seized during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered illegally occupied under international law
Israeli forces moved into a buffer zone separating the Golan Heights from Syria in the days following Assad's departure, saying,
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the change of control in Damascus meant ceasefire arrangements had "collapsed"
Despite the move, Netanyahu said in a statement on Sunday evening,
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Israel has "no interest in a conflict with Syria"
"We will determine Israeli policy regarding Syria according to the reality on the ground"
1. There are more than 30 Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights, which are home to an estimated 20,000 people 2. They are considered illegal under international law, which Israel disputes 3. The settlers live alongside some 20,000 Syrians, most of them Druze Arabs 4. The Druze Arabs did not flee when the area came under Israeli control
Netanyahu said,
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Israel would "continue to hold on to [the territory] make it flourish and settle it"
