Golan Heights

Workers seen at a vineyard in the Israeli settlement bloc of Gush Etzion, occupied West Bank, September 3, 2020. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)

The theft at the heart of Israel’s booming wine industry

After seizing Palestinian land, settlers are replanting it with vineyards — then exporting their wine as ‘Made in Israel’ to obscure its origins.

By Marta Vidal and Meriem Laribi January 30, 2026

A member of the Syrian security forces films the celebrations in Umayyad Square for the first anniversary of Assad's fall, in Damascus, Syria. (Santiago Montag)

Syria marks a year since Assad’s fall under shadow of Israel’s deepening occupation

As thousands filled the streets to celebrate liberation, others were reeling from Israel's latest raid and fearing for their safety amid sectarian tensions.

By Santiago Montag December 23, 2025

Syrian Druze head towards the border fence to pick up people crossing from the Israeli side, in the Syrian Jawlan, July 16, 2025. (Oren Ziv)

‘I haven’t been here in 40 years’: Emotional reunions as Druze cross Israel-Syria fence

After a protest breached the Jawlan barrier, Druze from both sides rushed to see relatives as police stood by — a glimpse of what the land was and could be.

By Oren Ziv July 18, 2025

Latest

An Israeli Merkava tank parked between Medinat al-Salam and Khan Arnabeh in Quneitra province, Syria, Jan. 5, 2025. (Tareq al-Salameh)

In southern Syria, a violent new Israeli occupation emerges

Israeli forces have advanced miles into Syrian territory — confiscating land and homes, killing farmers, and seeking to divide the region's diverse population.

By Santiago Montag April 10, 2025

Residents celebrate the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, in Majdal Shams, Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, December 9, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

For Syrians in the Golan, Assad’s fall sparks hope and uncertainty

Residents of the occupied Jawlan celebrated the regime's collapse, but remain wary amid political instability and further Israeli encroachment inside Syria.

By Baker Zoubi December 13, 2024

Israeli soldiers from the army’s 210th Division seen inside Syrian territory. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

‘As much and as quickly as possible’: Israeli settlers eye land in Syria, Lebanon

With the Israeli army advancing into Syria following Assad's fall, a group promoting settlements in Lebanon is casting its gaze eastward.

By Illy Pe’ery December 12, 2024

Syrians in Germany celebrate the fall of Assad Regime, December 8, 2024. (Wikimedia Commons)

‘Democracy won’t come to Syria overnight. But now, we have hope’

From exile, Bassam Al-Kuwatli long dreamed of Assad's fall. As head of the Syrian Liberal Party, he now plans to return to push for a democratic future.

By Meron Rapoport December 11, 2024

Mourners attend the funeral of children killed by an airstrike in Majdal Shams, occupied Golan Heights, July 29, 2024. (Oren Ziv)

‘The Golan won’t accept any killing or regional war in our victims’ names’

Israel’s exploitation of a rocket attack in Majdal Shams is the latest chapter of the Syrian Jawlan's ‘forgotten occupation,’ says activist Wael Tarabieh.

By Mariam Farah August 16, 2024

Members of the Syrian Druze community protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights, in Buq'ata, Golan Heights, March 30, 2019. (Basel Awidat/Flash90)

Clean energy, dirty dealing: Syrian Druze resist greenwashing of Golan occupation

An Israeli wind farm slated for construction on Syrian Druze agricultural land in the occupied Golan Heights has been met with profound resistance from residents.

By Ellie Stern February 6, 2020

Members of the Druze community in the Golan Heights protest the decision of President Donald Trump to recognize Israeli sovereignty in the territory, Majdal Shams, March 23, 2019. (Basel Awidat/Flash90)

Talk of Golan annexation leaves out those expelled from it

President Trump’s recognition of Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights has been widely celebrated by Israelis. But do those same Israelis know of the hundreds of thousands of people expelled from the territory during the 1967 war? By Tom Pessah The vast majority of Israelis are still unaware that over 130,000 residents of the Golan Heights were expelled from…

By +972 Magazine March 24, 2019

Angela Merkel faces down Donald Trump at the G7 Summit, June 9, 2018. (Jesco Denzel/German gov't)

The legitimacy of land grabs in the Trump era: From the Golan to Crimea

Trump’s administration needs to come to terms with the unacceptability of states snatching territory from other states through armed force and keeping it — no matter what rationale the historical context might provide. By Paul R. Pillar The main takeaway from the recent G-7 summit obviously is the striking damage to U.S.-allied relations from Donald…

By +972 Magazine June 12, 2018

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen with Israeli soldiers of the IDF Armored Corps during an army exercise in the Golan Heights, northern israel on October 15, 2013. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

The Syrian ceasefire in the Golan is good for Israel

Netanyahu called Trump and Putin’s ceasefire in Syria a ‘bad deal.’ But it could be the one thing that prevents Israel from being dragged into war — whether by miscalculation or military escalation. By Shemuel Meir The dramatic announcement by presidents Trump and Putin of a ceasefire in “south-west Syria” earlier this month was greeted…

By +972 Magazine July 20, 2017

Druze villagers threshing corn in Majdak Shams, Golan Heights, 1967. (Moshe Milner/GPO)

The Syrian refugees Israelis prefer to forget

As opposed to Palestinian refugees, the fate of the Syrians expelled from the Golan Heights by Israel in 1967 was covered up and hidden from public awareness. Even today, most Israelis believe the area was largely empty of Syrians, and anyone who may have been there fled voluntarily. By Irit Gal Among the Syrian refugees fleeing their burning country…

By Haokets July 18, 2017