Local Druse residents in northern Israel told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on Tuesday they were outraged over an Israeli effort to plant wind turbines in their agricultural fields.
The locals reportedly held a protest and attempted to block IDF and other authorities from entering the area to continue working on the project which is intended to produce renewable energy.
“The people are gathering on the roads leading to the agricultural lands that the Israeli authorities are planning to install air fans in the areas of Majdal Shams, Suhaita, Baqatha and Masada, amid a heavy presence of Israeli police forces and blocking the main roads,” the Al Masdar News outlet reported.
A source quoted by the Beirut-based site said “a state of anger prevails among the people who have moved to their lands to prevent the Israeli authorities from installing the fans.”
Although the Druze in some of these villages live in northern Israel, until 1967 or in some cases until 1973, they lived in southern Syria. They still have close relatives on the other side of the border and in some cases have conflicted sentiments about where their loyalties lie.
Joint funding totaling NIS 250 million was allocated earlier this year by Israel’s Defense and National Infrastructure, Energy & Water Resources Ministries to build wind turbine farms in the Golan Heights.
The new plans are projected to create “hundreds” of wind turbines in the north for the production of electricity, according to a January 2020 report by the Globes business news outlet.
The 2030 renewable energy targets set by Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy & Water Resources MK Dr. Yuval Steinitz, include the development of developing an electricity sector based on clean energy, including solar energy, among other things.