Israel took control over the Golan in 1967, during the six-day war, and has occupied the territory ever since. In December 1981, Israel unilaterally annexed the Golan, thus applying Israeli laws, jurisdiction and administration to anyone living there.
In the ICRC's view, the Golan is an occupied territory, and thus subject to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and other customary rules as reflected in the Hague Regulations of 1907.
No government has endorsed the Israeli annexation of the Golan.
The occupied area of the Golan measures about 1,200 square kilometres and its population includes an estimated 21,100 Syrian Arabs living in five main towns. The Golan also has about 19,000 Israeli inhabitants, who live in some 33 settlements.
©ICRC
One by one, the pilgrims' names are crosschecked at the small ICRC office in the demilitarized zone between the occupied Golan and Syria proper.
Students and pilgrims
For the Syrian Arab residents of the occupied Golan, travel to Syria proper is severely curtailed, if not impossible. As a neutral intermediary, the ICRC works with officials on both sides of the UN-controlled demilitarized zone to enable residents to cross back and forth for educational and religious purposes. The ICRC has been helping pilgrims (Druze Sheikhs) to cross the zone since 1994 and also helps students cross into Syria to attend university. (Photo gallery: 560 Syrian Druze cross to Syria proper.)
Weddings
For more than 20 years, the ICRC has been helping with the practical arrangements for weddings between Syrian Arab residents of the occupied Golan and their future partners from elsewhere in Syria. The wedding ceremonies also present a rare occasion for family members to meet up, if only for an hour, and take place under ICRC auspices in the demilitarized zone at Kuneitra crossing point. The ICRC’s role includes obtaining security clearance for the wedding guests.
After the ceremony, the newly-weds cross into the occupied Golan, and the partner from Syria proper relinquishes their right to return – and that of their future children.
Family visits to Syria
The vast majority of Syrian Arabs in the occupied Golan have close relatives living elsewhere in Syria but are unable to visit or even contact them because of the sealed separation zone. In the past, the ICRC ran a family visit programme, which allowed family members to meet in Syria once a year for two weeks.
This programme was abruptly stopped in 1992. The ICRC has made several appeals for the resumption of the visits, and continues to do so, but they have yet to restart. The severing of social, cultural and family ties has had an immense effect on Syrian Arabs in the occupied Golan. Indeed, the majority see the resumption of family visits as the single most important issue related to the occupation, one that urgently needs to be resolved. The ICRC considers resumption of this programme a priority.
Official papers and Red Cross messages
The ICRC transfers official papers such as powers of attorney, birth, death and marriage certificates and property documents, between the occupied Golan and the rest of Syria. This service constitutes an essential lifeline, reinforcing family unity across the separation line and helping Syrian Arab families living in the occupied Golan to deal with a complicated legal situation. The ICRC also receives and distributes Red Cross messages, enabling Syrian Arabs to exchange news with their relatives on the other side.
Economic initiatives
In 2009, at the request of both Israel and Syria, the ICRC transported 8,000 tonnes of apples from the occupied Golan through the 1974 separation line into Syria proper. This represents an important boost to the local economy and a significant economic and humanitarian channel between the Syrian Arab farmers in the occupied Golan and Syrian markets. The programme is only possible because all parties recognize the ICRC’s role as a neutral intermediary.
Visits to detainees
The ICRC regularly visits Syrian Arabs in Israeli custody. As of September, ICRC delegates had visited 18 detainees from the occupied Golan in different places of detention in Israel during 2009. In accordance with its standard working procedures, the ICRC monitors conditions of detention, shares its findings with the authorities in confidence and follows up on implementation of its recommendations.
All Golanese detainees registered by the ICRC can receive visits from their immediate families through the ICRC's family visit programme.
The ICRC has been working in the occupied Golan since 1967 and has maintained a full-time presence there since 1988, when it opened its office in Majd El Shams.
