New York, April 29 (SANA) Human Rights Watch warned that a $334 million Israeli plan to transfer thousands of settlers to the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, approved on April 17, openly declares an intention to commit war crimes, according to its new report, “Israel Funds War Crimes in the Occupied Syrian Golan Heights.”
The plan includes expanding the first settlement established in 1977 to accommodate 3,000 Israeli families by 2030, in a clear violation of international law, which prohibits the transfer of populations to occupied territory.
“This is public funding of a war crime, amid settlement expansion in the West Bank and impunity,” said Heba Zayadin, senior Syria researcher.
Calls for Immediate International Sanctions
The organization called on the European Union and other countries to suspend trade agreements with Israel and ban trade with illegal settlements in the Golan Heights and the West Bank, as well as halt arms exports and open international criminal investigations against Israeli officials. Companies were also warned of the risks of complicity in war crimes through support for settlements.
Escalating violations on the ground
The organization documented the forced displacement of Syrians, the destruction of homes and agricultural lands, and arbitrary arrests since the fall of the deposed regime, along with a military expansion beyond the 1974 disengagement line, cutting off residents from their historical livelihoods.
These violations occur despite UN Security Council Resolution 497 (1981), which nullifies any Israeli sovereignty over the Golan and was recently reaffirmed by 134 UN member states.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa affirmed at the Antalya Forum that “the Golan is a Syrian territory and any country’s recognition of Israel’s right to the Golan is invalid.”
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