The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates strongly condemned the "dangerous and unprecedented escalation by the authorities of the Israeli occupation in the occupied Syrian Golan." The ministry condemned the "systematic settlement practices and violence that amount to war crimes," among these actions was the "provocative visit" of the Israeli PM and his government to the occupied Golan, setting a session there aiming to double the numbers of settlers in the occupied region.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry affirmed, in a statement, that "the occupied Syrian Golan, according to international legitimacy and international law, is an integral part of the territory of Syria," pledging to return it completely to the homeland and by all available and guaranteed by international law.

The ministry added that "the Syrian government renews its firm and strong support for its Syrian citizens, the people of the occupied Syrian Golan, who are steadfast in their resistance against the Israeli occupation, their rejection of the decision to annex the Golan to the occupation entity and to the policy of seizing land and property carried out by the occupation authorities."

It pointed out that "the recklessness of the provocative Israeli behavior would not have reached this extent without the protection provided to it by successive US administrations, since the annexation crime of 1981."

Israeli occupation approves settlement plan in occupied Golan

Yesterday, the Israeli occupation government approved a major settlement plan, at a cost of about one billion shekels, aimed at doubling the number of settlers in the occupied Syrian Golan.

Several Israeli media outlets had previously reported that the occupation's cabinet was to allocate a budget of 1 billion shekels ($317) to increase the population of the occupied Golan Heights by twofold.

The occupation's cabinet approved the massive spending plan during their weekly meeting, this time held in "Mevo Hama," the occupied Syrian Golan.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced during the weekly session that the plan constitutes of building two new "communities" in the "Katzrin" settlement built on Syria's Qasrin.

The two new "communities" will be named "Asif" and "Matar," and each of them will comprise thousands of housing units.

According to Israeli media, the plan will see the number of Israeli settlers increasing from 50,000 to 100,000.