Israel's siege on the Golan Heights
In the town of Madinat Al-Salam, in the Syrian Golan Heights, few have had time to celebrate the fall of the Assad regime. On 8 December, as the dictator fled the country, Israel invaded Syria for the first time in half a century. Since then, much of the buffer zone between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and the rest of Syria has come under siege.
The main road that connects Madinat Al-Salam to southern Syria bears the most visible sign of invasion, where a large tank sits at the end of a long trail of wrecked asphalt and uprooted trees. The village, located in the small area of the Golan Heights that was not seized by Israel in 1967, is now peppered with checkpoints, while buildings and land have been confiscated. ‘The Zionist enemy has made life unbearable’, says Moutasem, a local resident.
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Donate now!No village finds itself in a worse situation than neighbouring Al Hamidiya, now enclosed by Israeli forces. Only allowed to move freely two hours a day, its residents have suffered weeks without food or water, and have lost access to basic services like healthcare and education.
The military claims its incursion is temporary, motivated by security reasons after the regime’s fall. However residents fear Israel is taking advantage of the situation to grab more Syrian land. ‘We just got rid of one occupation’, says Omar, in Al Hamidiya. ‘Is this the start of a new one?’