Al-Marsad - Arab Human Right Centre in Golan Heights ("Al-Marsad"), the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (“ACRI”), and Bimkom - Planners for Planning Rights ("Bimkom") held a joint public meeting last week to discuss the legal actions available to native community in the occupied Syrian Golan to block Energix Renewable Energies’ ("Energix") Clean Wind Energy Project. The project, which was highlighted in Al-Marsad’s report Windfall – The Exploitation of Wind Energy in the Occupied Golan, threatens the private land, future development, and health of the native Syrians in the occupied Golan.

The public meeting, which included a field visit to native Syrians’ private agricultural lands to preview the area where the wind farm project will be built, was attended by dozens of farmers, agricultural association members, local activists, and the staff of the three host organizations. The meeting began with a presentation from a Bimkom town planner, César Yehudkin, who gave a comprehensive outline of the proposed wind farm project. The meeting also included a presentation on the project from Oded Feller, a lawyer and legal advisor at ACRI. The meeting focused on the legal objections to the project and how such objections could be presented to the Israeli Infrastructure Committee, which has the final say in approving the project. The meeting concluded with an open discussion between attendees and the experts present.

After the meeting, the three host groups conducted a brainstorming session to create concrete strategies for amplifying the native Syrian community's objections to Energix's project. A detailed practical plan for contesting the project is still being formulated and will be publicly released upon its completion. Al-Marsad will continue to host meetings between the native Syrian community and experts to facilitate community resistance to Energix’s project.