How does the Golan Heights' Druze population factor into Israel's plans? | DW News

The fall of the Assad regime in Syria is being welcomed by many in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights — a border area where some Syrian families have lived separated from loved ones for years. Israel seized the region from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967 and annexed it in 1981. However, the Golan Heights is considered to be occupied under international law. More than 20,000 Druze call the area home, residing primarily in four villages. The Druze are an ethno-religious Arab sect who mainly identify as Syrian while holding Israeli residence cards. Israel has approved plans to expand Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights while its military continues to operate in a demilitarized buffer zone separating Syria from the Israeli-occupied territory. So, how do the Druze factor into Israel's plans?

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