Israel approves plan to expand communities in the Golan Heights

The Israeli government unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's NIS 40 million plan to encourage demographic growth in the Golan Heights, the Prime Minister's Office announced on Sunday.

Netanyahu has expressed a desire to double the population of the Golan after Israel's north suffered over a year of devastation due to the war.

Currently, over 100,000 people have been displaced along the northern border, and the potential for a new conflict with Syria after Assad's fall has made many concerned that their return home would be delayed.

However, the plan aims to assist the Golan Regional Council in absorbing new residents who will arrive on top of those who will be returning. 

Netanyahu argued that this decision would strengthen elements such as education and renewable energy across the Golan and Katzrin communities.

יחד עם ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו ברמת הגולן.משקיפים על שיא החרמון הסורי שחזר לשליטת ישראל אחרי 51 שנים.רגע היסטורי מרגש. pic.twitter.com/oSJKoa4Bro

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) December 13, 2024

"Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time," Netanyahu said. "We will continue to hold onto it, make it flourish, and settle it."

A visit to the Hermon

Days before this decision, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz traveled to the Golan to see the Syrian Hermon, which was recently taken by the IDF, marking the first Israeli presence in the land in over 50 years.

"An exciting historical moment," he wrote in a post on X/Twitter.