Syrian report on Israel's violation of human rights in the Golan
Syria-Regional, Politics, 8/20/1998

The Arab League has circulated a report submitted by the Syrian Foreign Ministry to all Arab states about Israeli practices in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

The report will be discussed during the 110th session of the Council of Arab Foreign Ministers. The meeting is to be held in the middle of September and will be chaired by Syrian FM Farouk al-Sharaa.

Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Ahmad Bin Hali, who is also responsible for the the Golan issue, said the report includes Israeli measures of annexation and imposing Israeli citizenship on Syrian citizens in the Golan, whose number is estimated at 17,000.

Bin Hali added the report gives details about the "colonialist settlement policies aimed at changing the demographic structure of the Golan, a matter which reflects the Israeli inclination to seize Arab lands, steal water and expel Arab citizens."

The report went on to say that the Israeli occupation troops not only control 96% of the land in the Golan but also has devastated some 234 villages, cities, farms and projects. This shows current Israeli attempts to control the other five Syrian villages in the Golan the report said.

The report added that these measures are accompanied by harassment of the Syrian people in the Golan who attempt to expand their buildings. The Syrians are not given building permits. Heavy taxes are also imposed that cannot be borne by the people of the Golan. The report said that Israel also pursues a policy the aims at destroying the cultural identity of the people of the Golan through various measures.

Assistant secretary Hali said that the report also gives details on the deteriorating health and living conditions of the Golan people. He said Israel deliberately pursues a policy of destroying the environment in the Golan and dump poisonous waste resulting from chemical industries. The report cited as evidence a special report by international institutions on the dumping of 53 tonnes of nuclear waste near borders with neighboring Arab countries. He noted that such practices will lead to an environmental catastrophe in the Middle East.

Bin Hali said the report revealed Israeli efforts to unearth and plunder the antiquities of the occupied Golan. It said that Israel has ravaged some 310 sites in the region and tried to forge historical facts in order to falsify history. The report stressed that despite the Israeli practices against the Syrian citizens, the Syrian citizens in the Golan continue resistance against the occupation. They voiced adherence to their Syrian identity and confrontation of terrorist practices aimed at changing the demographic and legal structure of the Golan.

Previous Stories:
  Mordechai calls for peace accord with Syria   (8/19/1998)
  Syrian FM: We're not in a hurry to have an unjust peace   (8/18/1998)
  AL condemns Israeli settlement expansion in the Golan   (8/15/1998)

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