Trump paves way for Israel to expand settlements in Golan
Shortly after US President Donald Trump decided to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, Israel announced a plan to build 30,000 new housing units for settlers in the area.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israel's Ministry of Housing has confirmed government plans to develop the Golan Heights to accommodate 250,000 Israeli settlers there by 2048, when the country marks its 100th anniversary. The plan, prepared by the ministry in cooperation with the Golan Regional Council and the Council of Katzrin settlement, was revealed one week after US President Donald Trump announced March 25 that the United States would recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
The plan is to build 30,000 new housing units in Katzrin, build two new settlements, create 45,000 jobs, develop transportation networks, including railways and airports, and clear land mines from 80,000 dunums (almost 20,000 acres). No further details were available regarding when the plan will be implemented and whom it might employ.
“Revealing a long-term plan to Judaize the Golan would not have been possible without the US decision,” Antoine Shalhat, director of the Palestinian Forum for Israeli Studies (MADAR), an independent research center in Ramallah, told Al-Monitor. Successive US administrations had always considered the Golan Heights occupied territory.
In December 1981, the Israeli Knesset passed a law to annex the Golan Heights and impose Israeli jurisdiction over it. However, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 497, which considered the Israeli law null and void and called for canceling it.
