“Israel” approves plan aiming to double annexed Golan population

The “Israeli” government on Sunday approved a plan to double the population of the occupied and annexed Golan Heights, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, the prime minister's office said.

The government had "unanimously approved" the NIS 40 million (USD 11 million) "plan for the demographic development of the Golan... in light of the war and the new front in Syria and the desire to double the population", Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

“Israel” has occupied most of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau, since 1967 and annexed that area in 1981 in a move recognised only by the United States.

Netanyahu said "the strengthening of the Golan is that of the State of Israel and it is particularly important at this time. We will continue to establish ourselves there, develop it and settle there".

Last week, Netanyahu declared that the annexed Golan would be “Israeli for eternity”.

That followed an order he gave for troops to cross into a UN-patrolled buffer zone separating “Israeli” and Syrian forces since 1974. Troops also seized areas beyond the buffer, including on Mount Hermon.

“Israel” portrayed the move, which drew international condemnation, as a temporary and defensive measure after what Netanyahu's office called a "vacuum on Israel's border and in the buffer zone", following Assad's fall.

In the aftermath of Assad's overthrow, Israel also launched hundreds of strikes on Syria targeting strategic military sites and weapons, including chemical weapons.