EIN QINIYA, Golan Heights: Sameera Rada Emran’s face should be everywhere. The 46-year-old Druze resident of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights is running to head her village’s local council. But there are no posters bearing her image or campaign ads bellowing her name.
Druze residents of the Golan will for the first time join millions of Israelis voting in local elections next week. But candidates like Emran have had to keep a low profile amid a call by some Druze — who are members of a secretive offshoot of Islam — to boycott the polls, exposing a deep rift in the community over identity and the future of the occupied territory.
The chasm has pit community elders who pledge fealty to Syria and activists opposed to Israel’s occupation against those with looser ties to their ancestral homeland who seek to have a stake in how their own communities are managed.
“I understand the opposition and where it comes from because we still live it. The Golan Heights is occupied and that is a fact. No one can deny that. On the other hand, we have been in this situation for more than 50 years,” Emran said. “There are young people who need to live and we need to provide them a healthy and beneficial environment that allows them to progress.”
Israel occupied the Golan Heights in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the territory in 1981 — a move that is not internationally recognized.
In contrast to the Palestinian territories captured in 1967, however, the Golan has remained quiet under Israeli rule. While most of the Golan’s 26,000 Druze have chosen not to take Israeli citizenship, they hold Israeli residency status that gives them the right to travel and work freely. Residents speak Hebrew and the Golan, with its rugged landscape and many restaurants, is a popular destination for Israeli tourists.
Still, the community largely sees itself as inextricably linked to Syria. Many hope the territory might one day be returned to Syria as part of a peace deal.
Boycott supporters have been holding meetings to convince — or pressure — candidates not to run and voters to abstain and several would-be candidates have already withdrawn. Demonstrations against the elections have been held and a general strike is being planned for election day.
Emran said some of her relationships with neighbors have soured over her choice to run.
The divide has meant the frenzy of election campaigning has skipped over the sleepy Druze villages. Candidates have had to keep campaigning a hushed, low-key affair, with many appealing to voters through social media and quiet gatherings indoors.
Since the annexation, Israel has appointed representatives to local councils in the Golan’s four Druze villages. But a yearning by more educated, younger Druze for economic opportunities and greater integration into Israeli society, coupled with a realization that the territory will not return to Syria in the near future, has sparked a desire by some to control their own fate, even if it means cooperating with what’s still largely seen as an occupying power.
That, along with a sense that the appointees did not properly represent the community, prompted a group of young lawyers from the area to appeal to Israel’s Supreme Court for a say in choosing their leaders. Their petition succeeded, paving the way for the first-ever elections on Oct. 30.
Israel has cast the elections as an “historic” event. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri called it “a move that strengthens Israel’s democracy” when he announced the vote.
Israel’s government sees the Golan Heights as an integral part of the country and a bulwark against radical Islam and growing Iranian influence in Lebanon and Syria. The Syrian civil war, in which hundreds of thousands have died and millions displaced, has only deepened this sentiment.
“Israel on the Golan Heights is a guarantee for stability in the surrounding area,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a recent visit to an ancient Golan Heights synagogue. “Israel on the Golan Heights is a fact that the international community must recognize and as long as it depends on me, the Golan Heights will always remain under Israeli sovereignty.”
For now, much of the international community considers the Golan to be occupied territory with its status subject to an eventual peace deal between Israel and Syria.
Many Druze complain that in this uncertain status, Israel has not done enough to improve living conditions.
The candidates say their villages lack investment in education, infrastructure and tourism, a thriving industry that many say benefits nearby Jewish settlements but not the Druze.
Religious leaders supporting the boycott see elections as legitimizing Israel’s rule. Other opponents view holding polls in occupied territory as a violation of international law.
Others point to the skewed democracy at play in the elections: While residency status in Israel grants the right to vote in local elections, only citizens can run for the head of local councils. Of nearly 27,000 Golan Druze, 17,000 can vote but only about 5,000 are citizens.
“We consider ourselves Syrian Arabs under Israeli rule, under Israeli occupation,” said Sheikh Hayel Sharaf, a religious leader who opposes the polls. “For sure the Golan people will boycott.”
The war in Syria also looms large. For some residents, President Bashar Assad’s imminent victory is a sign that they will soon be reunited with Syria.
For others, the seemingly endless fighting has presented a realization that their future does not lie in the war-torn state.
“It’s clear that the religious leaders are losing control of the young generation because of pragmatic considerations,” said Yusri Hazran, a lecturer on the Middle East at Jerusalem’s Shalem College. “What is the alternative to Israel for them? There is none.”
Observers say they expect turnout to be low, in part because of the boycott, but say it could grow in coming elections as the taboo surrounding voting erodes.
Emran sees hope in her father, a Syrian loyalist with an open mind.
“I can say he’s not happy” about her campaign, she said, proudly showing off a yellow ballot with her name on it. “But he understands the need to do something and move forward.”
First elections for Druze in Israeli Golan divide community
First elections for Druze in Israeli Golan divide community
- Some Druze members of a secretive offshoot of Islam are calling to boycott the upcoming polls
- Boycott supporters have been holding meetings to convince or pressure candidates not to run and voters to abstain
Arab, international support for Lebanon pours in as Aoun set to form government
- Bukhari expressed “Saudi Arabia’s satisfaction with Lebanon’s successful presidential election”
- Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides visited Beirut to congratulate Aoun, marking the first visit by a foreign head of state to Lebanon following the election
BEIRUT: Joseph Aoun’s first day as president of Lebanon was marked by strong Arab and international support.
Parliamentary consultations to name a new prime minister will take place next week.
Imran Riza, UN humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon, announced the allocation of $30 million from the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund to address urgent humanitarian needs caused by the recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s Dar Al-Fatwa relayed remarks from the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, during his meeting with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian.
Bukhari expressed “Saudi Arabia’s satisfaction with Lebanon’s successful presidential election, achieved through Lebanese unity that inspires hope.”
He described the accomplishment as a significant step toward Lebanon’s renaissance, reconstruction, security, and stability, as well as the initiation of reforms and restoring Arab and international confidence.
Dar Al-Fatwa also reported that Bukhari admired “President Joseph Aoun’s inaugural speech, which was a reflection of his national responsibility.”
On Friday, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides visited Beirut to congratulate Aoun, marking the first visit by a foreign head of state to Lebanon following the election.
Aoun also received a congratulatory message from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, expressing “the Iranian government’s readiness to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation in all areas.”
Pezeshkian said he hoped the presidential elections would lead to political stability, economic growth, peace, and security for the people of Lebanon. He added that reinforcing stability and unity would thwart Israel’s ambitions in Lebanon’s territory.
Aoun’s initial meetings included a session with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who, along with Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, is set to visit Syria on Saturday. This marks the first official Lebanese visit to Damascus since the fall of Bashar Assad.
Aoun asked Mikati to “continue managing caretaker duties until a new government is formed.”
Mikati said after the meeting that during the two years and two months since the end of former President Michel Aoun’s term, his government held 60 Cabinet sessions and issued more than 1,211 decisions and more than 3,700 decrees.
“We managed to navigate this phase and maintain the continuity of the state, particularly through its backbone — the army — under the leadership of Gen. Joseph Aoun and through our cooperation with him.”
Mikati explained that the discussion with the president focused on “the existing challenges and the content of the inaugural address, in which Aoun outlined the directions for any new government to implement the speech’s content through the necessary constitutional steps.”
Mikati said: “We talked about the situation in the south and the necessity for a swift and full Israeli withdrawal, reestablishing stability in the south and halting Israeli violations.”
He said the next government must be able to reflect the direction outlined by the president. “We are embarking on a new phase that requires everyone’s cooperation to exert serious efforts to save the nation. The broad outlines set by the president are very important and the leadership of this country has the will to act. Many of these objectives can be achieved quickly through an active government.”
Regarding Aoun’s insistence in his speech on “the state having a monopoly on bearing weapons,” Mikati said: “Do we expect the president of the country to say that weapons are legal for everyone? Do we expect a new government to say that weapons are legal for all citizens? Today, we are entering a new phase that starts from southern Lebanon, specifically south of the Litani River, to withdraw arms and ensure that the state will be present across all Lebanese territory, with stability beginning from the south.”
Aoun’s inaugural address on Thursday was widely welcomed in Lebanon, and across the Arab and international states. Leaders of political parties and economic bodies expressed support for the speech and its implementation.
Sami Gemayel, head of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, said: “His address is unprecedented in the past three decades, as all presidents came during the Syrian guardianship or when Hezbollah controlled decisions and no president was allowed to speak about the interest of his country.”
Gemayel pledged to “defend the speech, which fully represents us, and to stand by the president to realize his national project.”
A few hours after the election of the president, Israeli reconnaissance planes resumed violations of Lebanese airspace, starting from the south and reaching Beirut and its southern suburb, extending to Hermel on the border with Syria.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued their incursions into southern Lebanon, destroying border villages.
Aita Al-Shaab was subjected to artillery shelling, with Israeli forces conducting explosions and intensive sweep operations inside the town.
Movements of Israeli forces’ vehicles were observed between Tallat Al-Hamames and the adjacent Metula settlement at the Khiam-Wazzani triangle.
Once again, Israeli tanks and infantry forces conducted incursions in the town of Taybeh and opened fire on the remaining houses.
On Friday, a Lebanese Army unit entered the town of Aitaroun in Bint Jbeil, accompanied by a bulldozer to clear a dirt barrier previously erected by the Israeli Army at the village entrance.
The Lebanese Army is awaiting a signal from a five-member committee, tasked with overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire resolution, to redeploy in positions at the Al-Qouzah-Debel-Aita Al-Shaab triangle following the Israeli withdrawal.
On Thursday Israel heavily bombed the border town of Aita Al-Shaab, causing tremors deep in southern regions.
Israel also carried out operations to detonate houses in Kafr Kila, Houla, and the vicinity of Wazzani, with the Israeli military claiming it had bombed “five large ammunition warehouses.”
Israeli forces still have 15 days left of the 60-day deadline to fully withdraw from the area following the incursion on Oct. 1.
On Friday, Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee renewed his warning to the residents of southern Lebanon via social media, advising them against “moving south to the line of villages from Mansouri in the west to Shebaa in the east until further notice. Anyone who moves south of this line is at risk.”
Civil defense personnel, in coordination with the army and UNIFIL, continue to search and survey the areas from which the Israeli army withdrew, looking for the bodies of Hezbollah fighters who were reportedly missing.
Stampede at central Damascus mosque kills four: health official
- Ghina, who was at the mosque to attend Friday prayers, said she saw “people carrying an elderly woman with blood dripping from her face“
- The Al-Watan newspaper said it happened during the distribution of free meals
DAMASCUS: A stampede at the landmark Umayyad Mosque in Syria’s capital on Friday killed four people, a Damascus health official told state media.
“Damascus Health Director Dr. Mohammed Akram Maatouq announced that the final toll from the unfortunate stampede that occurred today in the Great Umayyad Mosque and its surroundings is four dead and 16 injured,” a statement carried by state news agency SANA said.
Earlier, Damascus Governor Maher Marwan had told SANA that the deadly crush took place “during a civilian event at the mosque.”
A photographer who collaborates with AFP and was at the site of the stampede saw large crowds gathered near the mosque because free meals were being handed out.
Ghina, who was at the mosque to attend Friday prayers, said she saw “people carrying an elderly woman with blood dripping from her face,” adding that she appeared dead.
The Al-Watan newspaper said the stampede happened during the distribution of free meals by a social media personality.
A YouTuber called Chef Abu Omar, who has a restaurant in Istanbul, had earlier posted a video of preparations for the distribution of free meals at the Ummayyad Mosque.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had visited the mosque in the morning.
Israel strikes Yemen Houthis, warns it will ‘hunt’ leaders
- “A short while ago... fighter jets struck military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime,” the Israeli military said
- It said it also struck military infrastructure in the ports of Hodeida and Ras Issa
JERUSALEM: Israel struck Houthi targets in Yemen on Friday, including a power station and coastal ports, in response to missile and drone launches, and warned it would hunt down the group’s leaders.
“A short while ago... fighter jets struck military targets belonging to the Houthi terrorist regime on the western coast and inland Yemen,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
It said the strikes were carried out in retaliation for Houthi missile and drone launches into Israel.
The statement said the targets included “military infrastructure sites in the Hizaz power station, which serves as a central source of energy” for the Houthis.
It said it also struck military infrastructure in the ports of Hodeida and Ras Issa.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a statement after the strikes, said the Houthis were being punished for their repeated attacks on his country.
“As we promised, the Houthis are paying, and they will continue to pay, a heavy price for their aggression against us,” he said.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would “hunt down the leaders of the Houthi terror organization.”
“The Hodeida port is paralyzed, and the Ras Issa port is on fire — there will be no immunity for anyone,” he said in a video statement.
The Houthis, who control Sanaa, have fired missiles and drones toward Israel since war broke out in Gaza in October 2023.
They describe the attacks as acts of solidarity with Gazans.
The Iran-backed rebels have also targeted ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, prompting retaliatory strikes by the United States and, on occasion, Britain.
Israel has also struck Houthi targets in Yemen, including in the capital.
Since the Gaza war began, the Houthis have launched about 40 surface-to-surface missiles toward Israel, most of which were intercepted, the Israeli army says.
The military has also reported the launch of about 320 drones, with more than 100 intercepted by Israeli air defenses.
Gaza war death toll could be 40 percent higher, says study
- Researchers sought to assess the death toll from Israel’s air and ground campaign in Gaza between October 2023 and the end of June 2024
- They estimated 64,260 deaths due to traumatic injury during this period, about 41 percent higher than the official Palestinian Health Ministry count
LONDON: An official Palestinian tally of direct deaths in the Israel-Hamas war likely undercounted the number of casualties by around 40 percent in the first nine months of the war as the Gaza Strip’s health care infrastructure unraveled, according to a study published on Thursday.
The peer-reviewed statistical analysis published in The Lancet journal was conducted by academics at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Yale University and other institutions.
Using a statistical method called capture-recapture analysis, the researchers sought to assess the death toll from Israel’s air and ground campaign in Gaza between October 2023 and the end of June 2024.
They estimated 64,260 deaths due to traumatic injury during this period, about 41 percent higher than the official Palestinian Health Ministry count. The study said 59.1 percent were women, children and people over the age of 65. It did not provide an estimate of Palestinian combatants among the dead.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in the Gaza war, according to Palestinian health officials, from a pre-war population of around 2.1 million.
A senior Israeli official, commenting on the study, said Israel’s armed forces went to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties.
“No other army in the world has ever taken such wide-ranging measures,” the official said.
“These include providing advance warning to civilians to evacuate, safe zones and taking any and all measures to prevent harm to civilians. The figures provided in this report do not reflect the situation on the ground.”
The war began on Oct. 7 after Hamas gunmen stormed across the border with Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The Lancet study said the Palestinian health ministry’s capacity for maintaining electronic death records had previously proven reliable, but deteriorated under Israel’s military campaign, which has included raids on hospitals and other health care facilities and disruptions to digital communications.
Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals as cover for its operations, which the militant group denies.
STUDY METHOD EMPLOYED IN OTHER CONFLICTS
Anecdotal reports suggested that a significant number of dead remained buried in the rubble of destroyed buildings and were therefore not included in some tallies.
To better account for such gaps, the Lancet study employed a method used to evaluate deaths in other conflict zones, including Kosovo and Sudan.
Using data from at least two independent sources, researchers look for individuals who appear on multiple lists of those killed. Less overlap between lists suggests more deaths have gone unrecorded, information that can be used to estimate the full number of deaths.
For the Gaza study, researchers compared the official Palestinian Health Ministry death count, which in the first months of war was based entirely on bodies that arrived in hospitals but later came to include other methods; an online survey distributed by the health ministry to Palestinians inside and outside the Gaza Strip, who were asked to provide data on Palestinian ID numbers, names, age at death, sex, location of death, and reporting source; and obituaries posted on social media.
“Our research reveals a stark reality: the true scale of traumatic injury deaths in Gaza is higher than reported,” lead author Zeina Jamaluddine told Reuters.
Dr. Paul Spiegel, director of the Center for Humanitarian Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Reuters that the statistical methods deployed in the study provide a more complete estimate of the death toll in the war.
The study focused solely on deaths caused by traumatic injuries though, he said.
Deaths caused from indirect effects of conflict, such as disrupted health services and poor water and sanitation, often cause high excess deaths, said Spiegel, who co-authored a study last year that projected thousands of deaths due to the public health crisis spawned by the war.
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) estimates that, on top of the official death toll, around another 11,000 Palestinians are missing and presumed dead.
In total, PCBS said, citing Palestinian Health Ministry numbers, the population of Gaza has fallen 6 percent since the start of the war, as about 100,000 Palestinians have also left the enclave.
Syria monitor says Assad loyalist ‘executed’ in public
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighters affiliated with the country’s new rulers executed Mazen Kneneh on Friday morning
- Fighters shot Kneneh in the head on the street in Dummar
BEIRUT: A Syria monitor said fighters linked to the Islamist-led transitional administration publicly executed a local official on Friday, accusing him of having been an informant under ousted president Bashar Assad.
Contacted by AFP, the Damascus authorities did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said fighters affiliated with the country’s new rulers executed Mazen Kneneh on Friday morning, describing him as “one of the best-known loyalists of the former regime.”
Fighters shot Kneneh in the head on the street in Dummar, a suburb of the capital Damascus, said the Britain-based monitor.
It said he was “accused of writing malicious security reports that led to the persecution and jailing of many young men” who were tortured in prison under Assad, whose rule came to an end on December 8.
A video circulating online, which AFP was unable to independently verify, purportedly showed the man’s slumped body tied to a tree trunk, his clothes bloodied from what looked like a bullet wound to the head.
Members of the public including children gathered around the body, according to the video, some filming with their mobile phones and others beating the body with sticks or high-kicking it in the head.
In recent days, Syrian authorities launched security sweeps targeting “remnants of the regime” of the deposed leader in several areas.
Anas Khattab, the new General Intelligence chief, has pledged to overhaul the security apparatus, denouncing “the injustice and tyranny of the former regime, whose agencies sowed corruption and inflicted suffering on the people.”
