Syria condemns ‘dangerous’ Israeli plans to boost Golan population

Syria says Israel’s plans to double the number of people living in the Golan Heights are “dangerous and unprecedented,” and only perpetuate its occupation of the territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Sunday a multimillion-dollar plan meant to double the population of the strategic plateau, which Israel captured from Syria more than five decades ago.

“Syria strongly condemns the dangerous and unprecedented escalation from the Israeli occupation forces in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, and its persistence in settlement policies, and grave and methodological violations that rise to the level of war crimes,” a Syrian Foreign Ministry statement says.

The statement says the Syrian government remains committed to the Syrians living in the Golan “who are steadfast in their resistance to the Israeli occupation and their rejection of the decision to annex the Golan.”