Israel to triple population of occupied Golan Heights to form Jewish majority
Occupied Golan Heights (QNN)- Israel will be working to triple the population of the Golan Heights in the coming years in order to form a Jewish majority in the occupied heights, as Sputnik quoted Dimi Apartsev, the mayor of the settlement of Qatsrin on Tuesday.
“The population of the Golan Heights will increase to about 150,000 people. This means that the Jewish population is likely to increase to 100,000 people, while the Druze population will rise to 50,000… Of course, the recognition of Israel’s sovereignty [over the Golan] will open up new prospects in terms of foreign investment,” Apartsev said, speaking about Israel’s demographic plans in the region for the coming 10-15 years.
The Qatsrin settlement mayor added that he expected to bring the population of his settlement alone to 50,000 people from the current 8,500 inhabitants, and that he hoped that the US decision would help fight against international boycott campaigns, urging investors to refrain from dealing with the occupied territories.
About 40,000 people currently live in the occupied Golan Heights, with the Druze making up over 50 percent of the population. The Druze consider themselves to be Syrians, though, they maintain peaceful relations with their Jewish neighbors. Qatsrin is the administrative capital of the Golan Heights and the largest out of 33 Jewish settlements of the region.
The Golan Heights was occupied by Israel in 1967 during the Six-Day war before being annexed in 1981, though, The UN Security Council declared the annexation null and void in its Resolution 497 on December 17, 1981.
