Israeli ministers face protest at Druze funeral in Golan Heights
Mourners protested the presence of several Israeli ministers at the funeral of 12 people killed by rocket fire in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on July 28th, reported Anadolu Ajansi and Asharq al-Awsat.
The victims of the rocket strike in the Majdal Shams area were teenagers and children resting by a football field, with the youngest casualty being ten years old. Israel has accused the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah of the attack, though they have denied any responsibility.
The far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attended the funeral but was seen receiving words of abuse and protest in footage aired by the Israeli media.
“Get out of here, you criminal. We don’t want you in the Golan,” shouted a protester at Smotrich.
Other Israeli officials attending included Environment Protection Minister Idit Silman, Economy Minister Nir Bakat and Energy Minister Eli Cohen also faced protest.
READ: Hezbollah reveals drone footage of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
The Druze Authorities Forum sent a letter explicitly requesting that Israeli government ministers not attend the funeral, according to the Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
“Do not come. Given the sensitivity of the situation, we ask not to turn this massacre into a political event. We demand a quiet religious funeral according to Druze customs,” stated the letter.
Israel has occupied two-thirds of the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory, since the Six-day War in 1967 and formally annexed the area in 1981. The population of the occupied territory consists of approximately 25,000 Israeli Jewish settlers and over 20,000 Druze, an Arab and Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group.
The majority of residents in the Golan Heights have refused Israeli citizenship, with only 20% accepting the offer as of 2018.
The latest attacks have added even more pressure to the delicate security situation in the Middle East, with governments in the region and international observers fearing an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Anadolu Ajansi / Asharq al-Awsat and agencies
