Thousands of Druze protesters clashed on Wednesday with police in the northern Golan Heights over the Druze opposition to the construction of wind turbines there. According to police, an officer opened fire after a group of masked men with stones approached him. One protester who approached the same officer wielding a sharp object was slightly wounded by a shot to his leg. Five protesters were arrested. Later reports indicate two seriously-injured protesters.
תמונות שלא נראו שנים ברמת הגולן. עימותים ופצועים כולל שימוש באמצעים, בגולן מדווחים על עשרות נפגעים לרבות פצוע קשה.הימים האלה אמורים להיות ימי חגיגה של קטיף דובדבנים ולא עימות. מישהו בממשלה צריך לבלום ולהרגיע ,אחרת הכעס והתסכול יגלוש מהר מאוד לעוד אזורים בגליל ובכרמל בגלל טורבינות pic.twitter.com/P81YFC81Za
— Jack khoury.جاك خوري (@KhJacki) June 21, 2023
Druze protests blocked major roads to traffic, including Highway 6 at the Elyakim interchange, Route 85 at the Yasif junction, and Route 70 at the I’billin junction. Police are asking motorists to avoid these areas.
כ 6 שעות לאחר תחילת חסימת הצירים בצפון, פקקי ענק. בכמה מקומות מפגינים דרוזים, חלקם רעולי פנים, הציתו צמיגים, השליכו אבנים לעבר כלי רכב ועצרו את התנועה. המשטרה לא מתערבת. המחאה פרצה בשעות הבוקר, בשל הקמת חוות טורבינות בשטחי הדרוזים בגולן. בעלי הקרקע נתנו את הסכמתם והכל נעשה כחוק. pic.twitter.com/Oyl8iueEWz
— Rubi Hammerschlag | רובי המרשלג (@rubih67) June 20, 2023
Energix Renewables, a power producer traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange since May 2011, and specializing in renewable energy, currently active mainly in Photovoltaics and Wind power, plans to erect dozens of wind turbines in the area, at an estimated cost of hundreds of millions of shekels.
Area villagers are opposed to the turbines, even though local landowners gave their consent in the past and signed commercial contracts authorizing the construction of the turbines on their land. It appears that after they signed the contracts, nationalistic groups put pressure on the landowners who asked to withdraw their consent.
Energix claimed that the opponents of wind turbines are “acting out of anti-Israeli motives, and harming the livelihood of hundreds of families in the area who are employed in the project, while intentionally ignoring
the significant contribution of the project to the residents of the community in the Golan Heights.”
The company also stated that “in recent months, negotiations were held at the company’s initiative and the relevant government agencies to reach agreements and compromises, but all these attempts failed due to the intervention of foreign considerations and for ideological reasons.”
Clearly, the construction of hundreds of massive win turbines that are owned by an Israeli company would establish even further Israel’s dominion over the Golan Heights. Many of the Golan Druze are still loyal to the Syrian regime that was ousted from the Golan by Israel in June of 1967.
The plan also aroused opposition among environmental organizations, who fear, among other things, that the turbine blades would harm birds of prey, especially eagles, that are permanent residents of the Golan.
