THE GOLAN HEIGHTS, Wednesday, June 21, 2023 (WAFA) – Dozens of residents and landowners of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights were injured today during confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces who yesterday prevented the landowners from reaching their farms, according to witnesses.
They said eight people were arrested, including Sheikh Salman Faris Shams, as the occupation forces cordoned off the area and prevented ambulances from reaching the wounded, who were evacuated by private vehicles.
Activists in the occupied Syrian Golan declared today a general strike and a day of rage in the villages of Majdal Shams, Baqatha, Masada, and Ain Qinya, in response to the “arbitrary and criminal” measures of the occupation authorities.
The activists stressed in a statement that the “arbitrary and criminal measures against us and our lands make us determined on our right decision and our firm position,” calling on the residents to gather on Wednesday at the al-Yafouri shrine to be a starting point to march toward the besieged lands.
Earlier on Tuesday, the occupation forces assaulted the residents who protested in defense of their agricultural lands which Israel wants to confiscate threatened for the wind turbines project after representatives of the Israeli company responsible for the project, backed by police forces, stormed the lands.
The installation of giant turbines in the Golan villages follows a decision by the occupation government in this regard and the approval of the Israeli planning authorities.
The Golan residents assert that installing the turbines will impede the cultivation of their lands nearby and will be an environmental hazard. The Israeli courts had previously rejected the residents’ petition against the construction of the turbines.
The first attempt to start installing turbines in December 2020 was met with resistance from the people, who considered it a “declaration of war” on their villages.
