[JPost] Creating facts on the ground The approval of the NIS one billion plan strengthens Israel's presence in the Golan Heights territory
Israel's government is expected to approve a NIS one billion plan to develop the Golan Heights that will at least double its Jewish population and allow for the creation of two new towns in the region.
"We are making history in the Golan," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted in advance of the vote, which will take place during a special government meeting in the Golan Heights.
He tweeted a photograph of himself landing via helicopter on the Golan, stating that was the "beginning of an important day on the Golan."
At the start of the government meeting, Bennett said, "Friends, this is our moment, this is the Golan Heights moment," he said.
"A combination of circumstances led us today to a dramatic government decision to direct many resources, about one billion shekels, to strengthen the settlement of the Golan Heights," Bennett exclaimed.
"First, it must be said - the Golan Heights is Israeli. This goes without saying," he stated.
The government's allocation of resources strengthens Israel's presence in the Golan Heights territory which it captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and which it annexed in 1981.
The United States recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan in 2019 and is the only country to have done so. Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked former US president Donald Trump for that recognition by creating a town in the Golan in his name.
Israel has insistent that retention of that mountain range is essential for Israel's security.
"After about ten years of terrible civil war in Syria, every sane person in the world understands that a peaceful, flourishing and green Israeli heights [here] is preferable to another alternative," Bennett explained.
"The fact that the Trump administration has recognized this [Israeli sovereignty on the Golan], and the fact that the Biden administration has made it clear that there is no change in this policy, is also important," Bennett said.
The goal of the development plan is to double the population on the Golan, including through the construction of two new neighborhoods in the town of Katzrin and the creation of two new towns already named Asif and Matal, Bennett explained.
The plan calls for half-a-billion shekels for housing construction, NIS 162m. for tourism, industry and commerce and NIS 160m. for transportation systems and health care facilities, Bennett said.
Changes in the way people in the 21st-century work allow for people who work virtually to consider living in places such as the Golan, Bennett said
"To Israelis looking for a place to build their home, I say - this plateau is waiting for you. Come to the Golan," Bennett exclaimed.