Prime Minister Naftali Bennett participated in the Makor Rishon newspaper Golan Heights Economic and Regional Development Conference, at Midreshet HaGolan in Hispin this morning (Monday, 11 October 2021). Following is an excerpt from his remarks:

 

"Generations have fought over this beautiful section of the land, insisted on living on the hard ground and never gave up on the dream and vision buried on the Golan Heights. This is our home; this is the scenery of our homeland. And now, given this magnificent history, we must ensure that the future of the Golan Heights is even more magnificent.

 

“Exactly 40 years ago, the Government of Israel led by Menachem Begin made an incredibly brave and important decision: To apply Israeli law to the Golan Heights. Almost three years ago, we were informed of another significant development: The decision of the previous American administration to recognize the Golan Heights as part of Israel – a perception that has been adopted by the current administration.

 

“There is wall-to-wall agreement in Israeli society regarding the Golan Heights and its importance. For years, the slogan 'The people are with the Golan Heights' has been familiar to almost every child. And yet, despite the statements and the slogans – the Golan Heights are far from utilizing their latent potential.

 

“On my way here, the Justice Minister and I looked at the cattle fences and remarked to each other that nothing much has changed since our childhoods.

 

“In a world that allows remote working, when many families want space, quality of life, proximity to nature and a sense of community, there is due to be a massive flow to the Golan Heights and we in the Government of Israel need to encourage whoever wants to build their lives here – in every way.

 

“To my joy, there is competition in the government over the right to build up the Heights. Minister Liberman, Minister Shaked, MK Tzvi Hauser, Minister Elkin, Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz – all of them understand that developing communities on the Golan Heights is a national interest of the highest order and are genuinely 'competing' to be at the forefront and lead the effort. The residents will be the big winners. It is not enough to say 'The people are with the Golan Heights' – the people need to be on the Golan Heights. And for this, the government also needs to be in the Golan Heights. And today there is such a government. For example, there is my friend, minister Gideon Saar, a true friend of the Golan Heights. I can attest that in all my years in the government and the Knesset, in a series of various positions, always in both closed rooms and in public, Gideon was among the leading supporters of strengthening the communities.

 

“This morning we met and spoke with the Golan Heights council heads and businesspeople. I told them what I reiterate here: The Golan Heights is a strategic goal. Doubling the communities in it is a goal of the Government of Israel.

 

“My directive in this context is unequivocal.

 

“In six weeks, we will hold a Cabinet meeting at which we will approve a national plan for the Golan Heights. Our goal is to double, and double again, the number of residents in the Golan Heights.

 

“The establishment of two new communities, jobs and more investments in infrastructure.

 

“The government will allocate the necessary resources to implement this concept and we are now working to complete the plan that will change the face of the Golan Heights. This is the obligation of the government that I lead – and we will live up to it.

 

“It is impossible to discuss the Golan Heights without touching on what is happening over the border – in the other part of the Golan Heights, and in Syria in general. For more than a decade, Syria has not known stability.

 

“We are closely – very closely – monitoring what is happening in Syria and its ties with Iran. Iran, which has dispatched proxies and built armies to surround the State of Israel, aspires to build yet another army on the border of the Golan Heights. We will continue to act wherever and whenever necessary, at our initiative, and on a daily basis, in order to roll up the Iranian presence in Syria. They have nothing to look for there. Their adventure on our northern border needs to end. Thus, we will ensure not only the peace of the residents of the Golan Heights but of all citizens of Israel.

 

“I would like to make one thing clear – our position regarding the Golan Heights is not connected to the situation in Syria.

 

“True, the horrors that have been taking place there for a decade have convinced many in the world that perhaps it is preferable that this beautiful and strategic piece of land be in the hands of the State of Israel, that it is preferable that it be green and prosperous than yet another arena for killings and bombings.

 

“But even in the situation – which could happen – in which the world changes direction regarding Syria, or regarding the Assad Regime, this has no connection to the Golan Heights. The Golan Heights is Israel, period.

 

“I would like to conclude my remarks by commending you, participants in the conference that was initiated by the Makor Rishon newspaper. I am pleased over the decision to dedicate this conference to the important discourse on the socio-economic resilience of the Golan Heights, to the settlement, to agriculture, the future and more.

 

“In the previous conversation with the entrepreneurs, some very interesting directions on how to turn the Golan Heights into an experimental area for renewable energy, in the solar field and more, came up.

 

“We will increase the momentum and together we will bring prosperity and development to this beautiful piece of land and its excellent people."