Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian and Syrian protesters Sunday, killing as many as 23 people who tried to cross into the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
The article referred to Palestinian refugees in camps in Syria, as well as Syrians who fled the Golan Heights when Israel captured the strategic plateau in the 1967 Mideast war.
The Tishreen newspaper said the march was only an “introduction,” adding Syrians and Palestinians were now determined to recover their territory through resistance.
It said Israel should not be surprised when 600,000 refugees march back “at any time” to their villages and farms from which their families were forcefully uprooted.
Israel’s military responded with a stern warning. It said in a statement that breaching the frontier lines “is a violation of international agreements,” and the military will “operate as necessary to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents in the future.” The Israeli military warned, “Provocative rioters who breach the Israeli security fence place themselves in danger and must accept the responsibility for their actions.”
About 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven out of their homes in a two-year war that followed Israel’s creation in 1948. Together with their descendants, they number several million today. According to UN figures, about 450,000 refugees and their descendants are registered in Syria.
Roughly 100,000 Syrians fled the Golan Heights when Israel captured the territory in 1967.