'}}

Oil and natural gas in the Occupied Syrian Golan, illegal exploitation by Israel as occupying power

December 9, 2013

9 December 2013

During the Israeli-Arab war of 1967, Israel captured 70% of the Syrian Golan and 130.000 of the native inhabitants were forcibly transferred. In 1981 Israel illegally annexed the occupied Golan and since that moment Israel has considered itself as "sovereign" over that territory, although the International Community considered this annexation void and null and has never accepted it.

Nowadays there are five villages inhabited by native Syrian people, all of them are in the north and the number of indigenous Syrian people remaining in the Golan stands at 20000. On the other hand, there are more than 20000 Jewish settlers in the Occupied Syrian Golan, and in order to accommodate those 33 illegal settlements have been built within the region. The Israeli settlements are mainly in the south and the most important and biggest one is Qatzrin.

Approximately only 6% of the occupied territory remains under the indigenous Syrian population control, the rest has been expropriated for military use or for settlements.

According to the Law of Occupation, Israel being the occupying country, has the legal obligation to act as just administrator of public property and natural resources. Nevertheless, at the beginning of 2013 Israel's Energy and Water Resources Ministry granted Genie Energy, an American-Israeli company, an exclusive licence to explore for oil and gas in a 153-square miles radius in the southern part of the Golan. This action violates international law and therefore it is illegal.

 

Read the full document:  Position Paper - Oil and natural gas in the occupied Syrian Golan

Releated Posts


'}}
Letter from Al-Marsad to EU Delegation to Israel, EU Member State embassies and embassies of the Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, regarding international travel restrictions affecting the native Syrian population of the Occupied Syrian Golan
Al-Marsad called for a policy of visa-free or visa on arrival access for the Syrian population holding permanent residency status in the Occupied Syrian Golan, on an equal basis as that of Israeli nationals.
'}}
Publication of a new map of Syrian villages and farms destroyed by Israel
Al-Marsad has published a new map (available here) of Syrian villages and farms destroyed by the Israeli occupation forces during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and the subsequent occupation of the Syrian Golan; and the Israeli settlements that were built on their ruins.
'}}
Call for the international community to strongly reject Israel’s rhetoric regarding the Occupied Syrian Golan
Al-Marsad calls on the international community to strongly reject Israel’s latest attempts to obtain international acceptance of its illegal occupation and annexation of the Syrian Golan / Golan Heights.
'}}
Al-Marsad meets with representatives of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF)
Al-Marsad met with representatives of the United Nations mission. Al-Marsad was assured that its concerns have been taken into serious consideration and that UNDOF is willing to further its cooperation with Al-Marsad.
'}}
Britain, Netherlands and Ireland condemn violations of international law by Israel in the Occupied Syrian Golan
Britain, Netherlands and Ireland have condemned ongoing violations of international law by Israel in the Occupied Syrian Golan that include illegal settlement expansion, natural resource exploitation, land appropriation and home demolition.