‘The Golan won’t accept any killing or regional war in our victims’ names’
Mourners attend the funeral of children killed by an airstrike in Majdal Shams, occupied Golan Heights, 29 July 2024
Mariam Farah reports in +972 on 16 August 2024:
On July 27, a missile strike on a soccer field in Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, killed 12 children. The explosion left a two-meter-wide crater in the artificial turf, with burned motorcycles, scooters, and children’s remains scattered all around.
Israel blamed the Lebanese militia Hezbollah for the attack, vowing to retaliate forcefully. Hezbollah denied responsibility. Al-Marsad, a human rights group based in Majdal Shams, called for an international investigation into the incident to “hold those responsible accountable.”
The strike, which caused the largest number of civilian deaths in an Israeli-annexed area since October 7, heightened tensions and raised fears of a full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah. But it has also brought the issue of the occupied Golan Heights back into focus, raising questions about the territory’s legal status and political future.
Israel occupied the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 War, displacing 95.5 percent of the population and demolishing over 300 villages. Since that time, relations between Israel and the remaining residents of the territory — which is known in Arabic as the Jawlan — have remained tense.
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To understand more about how the community is faring in the wake of last month’s tragic incident, +972 Magazine spoke to Wael Tarabieh — an artist, activist, and manager of the economic, social, and cultural rights program at Al-Marsad. He explained the impact of the Majdal Shams attack on the Jawlan’s residents, how it relates to their long struggle against Israeli occupation and colonization since 1967, why the territory should not be characterized as Druze but rather Syrian-Arab, and what his vision for the future looks like. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.