Israel Plans First City in Occupied Golan Settlement

The Israeli government announced on April 17 that it had approved a five-year plan, 2026 to 2030, to strengthen settlement activity in the occupied Golan Heights, with a budget of about $334 million, according to The Times of Israel.

The plan aims to develop settlements in the occupied Golan, chiefly by turning the settlement of Katzrin into the first city in the area, alongside attracting thousands of new settlers over the coming years.

Finance Minister Ze’ev Elkin said the plan includes turning Katzrin into the first city in the Golan, along with projects in infrastructure, housing, public services, and education.

Elkin said the decision includes investment in “economic growth engines” and the development of academic and service sectors, to attract thousands of new families to the area and turn the Golan into a center of demographic and economic growth.

The plan was announced after a meeting held by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with local officials from the Golan in Jerusalem, during which he said the government was moving ahead with strengthening settlement activity in the area, considering that the Golan would “remain” under Israeli control, in reference to the political position on its status.

During US President Donald Trump’s first term, the United States recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan in 2019, although the decision did not receive broad international recognition, as the area is regarded as occupied Syrian territory under international law.

According to local officials, the plan is expected to help attract about 3,000 new families to Katzrin and its surroundings by 2030, in addition to developing the education and scientific research sectors, including the establishment of university branches and specialized medical facilities.

The plan also includes improving public services and creating jobs in the border area with Syria and Lebanon, at a time when the Golan has seen repeated security tensions in recent years as a result of rocket fire by Hezbollah, as well as the repercussions of developments inside Syria.

UN Calls for Israel’s Withdrawal From the Golan

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Israel to withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan Heights by a vote of 123 in favor, seven against, and 41 abstentions.

The United States joined Israel in opposing the resolution, which was adopted at a General Assembly session on December 3, 2025, to discuss developments in the Middle East, including the Palestinian and Syrian files.

The resolution calls on Israel to withdraw from all occupied Syrian Golan territory to the June 4, 1967 line, and stresses the principle that territory cannot be acquired by force and that the construction of settlements and other Israeli activities in the occupied Syrian Golan are illegitimate, according to a statement published by the Syrian Foreign Ministry through its official accounts.

The resolution says Israel has still not complied with UN Security Council Resolution 497, and stresses that the continued occupation of the Syrian Golan and its de facto annexation remain an obstacle to achieving a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in the region.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said the increase in the number of states voting in favor of the resolution, from 97 last year to 123 this year, “shows the scale of support for the new Syria and its national and principled position holding to the occupied Syrian Golan, and reflects intensive diplomatic efforts.”

Israel Condemns the Resolution

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, condemned the resolution, accusing the General Assembly of being “detached from reality,” and described the occupied Syrian territory as a “vital line of defense” for his country.

Danon wrote on his account on X, “Israel will not return to the 1967 borders, and will not give up the Golan, not now, and not at any time.”

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