Human Rights Watch: Israel Funds War Crimes in the Golan

SadaNews - The international organization "Human Rights Watch" confirmed that the decision made by the Israeli cabinet regarding the relocation of thousands of Israeli civilians to the occupied Syrian Golan is a clear declaration of intent to commit war crimes, noting that the occupying government approved the plan worth 334 million US dollars on April 17 of this year.

The organization’s senior researcher on Syria, Heba Ziyadin, stated that the Israeli cabinet allocated public funds for committing war crimes in Syria, while it is also accelerating settlement expansion in the West Bank, alongside the ongoing impunity for violence against Palestinians there.

Ziyadin added that the permanent transfer of populations to Syrian territories violates international standards and has serious implications for the long-displaced Syrians.

The organization called on the European Union and its member states, the United Kingdom, and other countries to suspend their trade agreements with Israel and impose a ban on trade and business with the illegal Israeli settlements, applying this to both the Golan and the West Bank, alongside suspending arms transfers to Israel.

It also emphasized that prosecutors in third countries should open criminal investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction against Israeli officials and others proven to be involved in transferring civilians to the occupied territories.

Details of the Plan

The organization reported that the Israeli cabinet approved a plan to develop the settlement of Katzrin, which was established in 1977, to become what officials described as the "first city" in the Golan, with the declared aim of bringing in 3,000 new settler families to the occupied territories by 2030.

The Israeli plan funds infrastructure, housing, public services, and academic facilities in the settlement, including a new university branch and specialized medical facilities. According to the organization, the "Tnuva Northern Directorate" will oversee the coordination of the project with local authorities.

Human Rights Watch adds that as previously documented in the context of settlements in the West Bank, companies that contribute to the transfer of civilians to the occupied territories risk complicity in violations of international humanitarian law and associated war crimes, noting that businesses engaging with entities in the occupied Golan or operating therein face the same risks.

Serious Violations

Israel occupied the Golan Heights in 1967 and applied Israeli laws to it in 1981, in an actual annexation; however, the United States is the only country in the world that recognizes Israel's alleged annexation of the territory, according to the organization, which stated that the Golan remains occupied land under international law.

The organization added that since 1967, Israeli authorities have prevented displaced Syrians, who hold the right of return, from returning to their homes in the occupied Golan Heights, destroying hundreds of Syrian villages and farms in the region. According to the Syrian government, the number of displaced persons, including their descendants, now amounts to hundreds of thousands.

The organization noted that the Israeli plan comes at a time when the occupying army is expanding further in southern Syria, adding that since the fall of the Assad government, Israeli forces have occupied Syrian territories outside the "1974 disengagement line," establishing several military sites within, while conducting ground attacks, airstrikes, and other operations in the Quneitra, Daraa, and Sweida governorates.

The organization documented serious violations committed by the Israeli occupation army during these operations, including the forced displacement of Syrian residents from villages in the recently occupied area, which constitutes a war crime.

The organization confirmed that to address the serious international crimes committed in Syria, the Syrian government should build on initial steps, including establishing a national body for transitional justice, to set legal frameworks for local investigations and prosecutions.

Source: Human Rights Watch