Beirut, April 29 (SANA) Human Rights Watch condemned an Israeli government plan allocating $334 million to expand settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan, describing it as a violation of international law.
The plan, approved on April 17, aims to develop the settlement of Katzrin and relocate around 3,000 Israeli settler families to the occupied territory by 2030, along with infrastructure, housing and public service projects.
Human Rights Watch said transferring civilians into occupied territory constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, stressing that the Syrian Golan remains occupied territory.
The organization said Israeli authorities have prevented displaced Syrians from returning to their homes since 1967, while hundreds of villages have been destroyed.
It also highlighted continued Israeli military escalation in southern Syria, including operations in Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida, reporting cases of forced displacement, destruction of homes and restrictions on access to land and resources.
The report cited UN Security Council Resolution 497, which considers Israel’s annexation of the Golan null and void, and said the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits settlement activities in occupied territories.
Human Rights Watch called for international measures, including suspending trade with settlements and halting arms transfers, while urging accountability through international legal mechanisms such as the International Criminal Court.
Human Rights Watch is a nonprofit organization based in New York. It was founded in 1978 as Helsinki Watch to monitor compliance with the Helsinki Accords and unified under its current name in 1988.
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