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Golan Heights

Buq'ata mayor William Abu Awad, left, and Salman Owida, Director General of Buq'ata on October 12, 2026. (Courtesy/Saleh Farhat)
Reporter's notebook
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'It all changed after the massacre of Druze in Syria'
In historic first, some Golan Druze, now new citizens, plan to vote in national election
By Diana Bletter
As taboos against naturalization and voting ebb, Buq'ata Mayor William Abu Awad expects many locals to back Benjamin Netanyahu, out of gratitude for Israel's aiding their Syrian brethren
Syrian army soldiers patroling along the Syrian-Lebanese border in the rural area of Al Qusayr on April 1, 2026. (Bakr Alkasem/AFP)
September 30, 2026, 2:56 pm
Syria says it dismantled Hezbollah-linked cell preparing rocket launchers
Terror group denies connection to arrested operatives, insisting it has no presence or military activity in Syria; accuses Israel of seeking to disrupt Lebanon-Syria relations
By AFP and ToI Staff
Tens of thousands of red-clad protesters marched past the Peace Palace, housing the International Court of Justice, rear, demanding their government do more to halt Israel's campaign in Gaza, during a demonstration in The Hague, Netherlands, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
September 29, 2026, 8:02 pm
The Netherlands is just a symptom of a widening global boycott against Israel
A year after the US forced a Gaza ceasefire, Israel’s international standing continues to plummet. The latest European restrictions threaten to exact a heavy economic toll
By Tal Schneider
Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, September 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
September 23, 2026, 7:27 pm
At the UN, Sharaa says peace with Israel possible, but vows Golan will remain Syrian
Syrian leader demands IDF withdrawal from border buffer zone, says Israel carried out 500 strikes since Assad’s fall; Katz responds Golan is ‘integral, eternal part of Israel’
By Lazar Berman, AFP and ToI Staff
Screen capture from video of an interview with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Atlantic Council in New York, September 22, 2026. (Atlantic Council)
September 23, 2026, 10:44 am
‘The problem is with Israel, not us’: Sharaa says Oct. 7 shouldn’t dictate Israeli policy on Syria
Ahead of his UN speech, Syrian leader stresses IDF must withdraw to 1974 demarcation lines in order to forge an initial security pact before any peace talks can take place
By ToI Staff
Druze horsemen and cattle growers from the four Golan Heights Druze villages of Majdal Shams, Ein Qiniyye, Buq’ata and Mas’ade parade through the Golan Heights ahead of Eid al-Adha festival, in Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, May 23, 2026. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
September 14, 2026, 10:06 am
Golan Druze increasingly embrace Israel, reject Syria in seismic shift triggered by tragedy
After decades of identifying as Syrian, community that saw kids killed by Hezbollah rocket and brethren massacred by forces controlling Damascus pivots toward ‘protector’ Israel
By Diana Bletter
US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack listens during a meeting between President Donald Trump and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office of the White House, September 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
August 24, 2026, 2:02 am
US envoy tries to downplay remark that Israel occupies Golan, which defied American policy
Tom Barrack insists he was describing UN’s position on the territory, not endorsing it; also asserts he wasn’t advocating for Iran and Hezbollah to join Israel-Lebanon talks when he said they’re ‘missing from that table’
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani speaks in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 25, 2026. (LOUAI BESHARA/AFP)
August 23, 2026, 12:02 pm
Syrian FM urges Israel to seize ‘historic opportunity’ for bilateral relations
‘We do not trust Israel currently,’ top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani says, but ‘Syria is extending its hand for understandings, peace, diplomacy’ with its neighbor
By TOM PERRY and Feras Dalatey
US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks in a panel during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, in Antalya, southern Turkey, April 17, 2026. (AP/Riza Ozel)
August 22, 2026, 3:25 pm
US envoy suggests Israeli strike in Syria sought to ‘bait’ Turkey ahead of elections
Katz says claim ‘full of inaccuracies,’ Jerusalem made diplomatic effort to avoid recent bombing of base near Turkish border; Tom Barrack confirms Mossad chief spoke with Syrian FM ahead of strike
By ToI Staff and Emanuel Fabian
View of the first snow this winter on Mount Hermon in Syria, as seen from the northern Golan Heights near the Syrian border, on December 13, 2025. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
August 10, 2026, 10:52 pm
New Colombian government recognizes Israel’s sovereignty over Golan Heights
South American country is just 2nd in world after US to endorse Israeli claim over territory captured from Syria in 1967; FM Sa’ar thanks Bogota for ‘historic decision’
By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa meets with US President Donald Trump (not pictured) on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
July 26, 2026, 6:07 pm
Syria’s Sharaa: Working on security pact with Israel, could lead to comprehensive peace deal
Syrian leader tells Al Jazeera that Damascus has no interest in conflict with Israel; again rejects Trump’s urgings for him to send troops to deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon
By ToI Staff
View of the Israeli border with Syria, as seen from the northern Golan Heights, April 11, 2026. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
July 18, 2026, 12:37 am
Settler activists illegally cross into Syria, stay for full day before being nabbed by IDF
Incident marks latest attempt by Bashan Pioneers to establish settlements in Syrian buffer zone; soldiers hand activists over to police, condemn ‘criminal offense’
By Emanuel Fabian
Golan Regional Council Deputy Head Yaakov Selavan, left, stands with Reut Tal-Levy, head of demographic growth in the Golan Heights, in a new neighborhood in Odem, on April 20, 2026. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)
May 9, 2026, 7:24 am
The quiet frontier? With minefields cleared, Golan Heights readies for construction boom
Despite local volatility, residents brace for speedy growth and bolstered infrastructure as part of recently approved 5-year plan allocating NIS 1 billion to develop area by 2030
By Diana Bletter
Workers are seen at a construction site in Katzrin, in the Golan Heights, January 6, 2025. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
April 16, 2026, 3:30 pm
Government approves 5-year, billion-shekel plan to develop Golan, give it its 1st city
Minister says plan will turn Katzrin into a city and ‘bring in thousands of new families’; in meeting with local leaders, Netanyahu touted ‘massive development surge’
By Diana Bletter and ToI Staff
Aerial photo of Rujm el-Hiri, an ancient monumental site in the Golan Heights, view to east. (Y. Shmidov and A. Wiegmann)
March 19, 2026, 11:14 am
Mystery widens: Researchers find Israel’s ‘Stonehenge’ in the Golan is not unique
Remote sensing and AI help identify 28 sites similar to Rujm el-Hiri, challenging theories about the ancient stone circle’s purpose and pointing to a wider regional phenomenon
By Rossella Tercatin
Illustrative: Members of the Israeli Druze community arrive to attend a celebration at the holy tomb of Nabi Shoaib near Tiberias in northern Israel on April 25, 2018. (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AFP)
March 15, 2026, 8:03 am
After years of hesitation, more Druze of the Golan Heights seek Israeli citizenship
Spurred by a deadly Hezbollah rocket and the fall of the Assad regime, northern Golan residents abandon historic ties to Syria and look to strengthen their Israeli identity
By Tal Schneider
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