Syrian paper to the Forum on Arab women and armed conflicts

The Syrian paper to Beirut's conference of "Arab women and armed conflicts" which was held on March 8 and 9 in the course of the celebrations of the Women's World day concentrated on the sufferings of the Syrian women in the occupied Golan heights under the title "the Syrian woman in the occupied Golan heights."

The paper tried to shed light on the hard experience of the Syrian woman under the Israeli occupation throughout 37 years and the attempts made by the occupation to impose its policies which adversely affected Syrian woman and family life in the occupied Golan.

The Syrian paper highlighted the situation in the Golan before and after occupation at the geographical, political and economic fields.

The total area of the Golan is 1860 Square Km, which is almost the total area of the Syrian governorate of al-Queitra, the capital of the Golan. Israel occupied in 1967 an area of 1260 square KM and part of this area was restored back to Syria in addition to the city of al-Quneitra itself following the war of 1973 between Israel and both Egypt and Syria known as the "October war."

At the present time, the part of the Golan which is still under occupation is 1200 Square Km.

The paper reviewed the status of the Golan under the Israeli occupation after June 5, 1967 occupation when Israel forced more than 148,000 and 5% of the population remained in 6 villages in the north of the Golan. These villages are Masaadeh, Baqatha, Ein Qenya, al- Ghajar and Sheita. Their population tolled 25,000 in 2003.

On December 14, 1981, Israel annexed the occupied lands and imposed the Israeli identity on its population and ignored the UN Security Council resolutions no. 497 which considers the annexation of the Syrian lands as null and void.

The Israeli occupation forces also converted the agricultural arable lands of the Golan into areas for building settlements, the number of these settlements tolled 44. Since 1967 Israel has been working to increase the number of these settlements to settle some 4500 new families in the past ten years.

The Syrian paper also dealt with the psychological and physical status of the Syrian woman and her social, economic and political conditions especially the Israeli policy in detaining and marginalizing.

The paper also dealt with the issue of education and culture in the occupied territories under occupation, especially women's education and damaging the Arab cultural heritage.

Among many other recommendations, the paper stressed the need of the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Golan heights until June 4, 1967 border lines; forming a fact finding commission and document the Israeli violations of the International Humanitarian law in the Golan, especially in regard to women and circulate these documents to each of the special committee on investigating the Israeli practices, the Higher commission for human rights, the UN woman's rights committee and other organizations concerned.