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Golan residents: Referendum bill encouraging
After Knesset votes in favor of pushing forward with bill calling for referendum on withdrawal from Israeli territories, residents of Golan Heights express satisfaction, say, 'MKs understand importance of Golan'
The Knesset's decision on Wednesday to advance a bill calling for a referendum on the withdrawal from parts of Israel's territories as part of future peace deals was received with much satisfaction in the Golan Heights.
Uri Heitner of Kibbutz Ortal in the Golan said, "It is sad that a law on approving concessions of sovereign territory via a referendum must be put in the State of Israel's law book, but this is our reality."
The Knesset plenum on Wednesday adopted a 'continuity law' allowing the parliament to continue legislative discussions on a bill obligating referendum on withdrawals from the Golan Heights or east Jerusalem.
Sixty-eight Knesset members voted in favor of the motion, 22 opposed, and one MK abstained. Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who had declared his objection to the bill, voted in favor.
Golan Heights sources said they would not breathe easy until the law is finalized. Heitner said, "I believe the law will be approved in a number of weeks. Today's decision strengthens our grasp on the Golan Heights, and it is very encouraging."
On the decision's repercussions on a future peace treaty with Syria, Heitner said, "Syria to me is like a groom who wants to get married, and tells the bride that if she doesn't marry him, he will murder her.
"Syria keeps saying it will act to retrieve the Golan Heights, if not by peace then by any other means, and by this, they mean war. As long as the Syrians don't understand that that the Golan is an inseparable part of the State of Israel, they cannot be a true partner for peace."
The decision was also welcomed by people in the Golan Height's tourist industry. Chairman of the Golan Tourism Association Shmulik Hazan said, "The tourism branch is central today alongside the age-old agriculture branch. There are some 2,200 zimmers and guest houses that employ hundreds of residents of the Golan, and many others work in private tourist sites, which belong to the Nature and Parks Authority and the Jewish National Fund.
"If some 700,000 people would visit the Golan Heights per year in the 1990s, in recent years their numbers have reached some three million per year, and this includes the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee and the Mount Hermon ski site."
Of the Knesset's decision, he said, "It stems mainly from the representatives of various parties realizing that the many visitors to the Golan Heights, who are the voters, have grown to understand its importance to the State of Israel. We make sure to show them, alongside the ancient heritage sites, the scenery and the flourishing settlement, and I believe we will see a significant rise in the number of these visitors in the near future and of people wishing to come and build their homes in the Golan Heights."
'Good news for Golan settlement'
The residents were represented in the debate by Golan Regional Council head Eli Malka and Katzrin Local Council head Sami Bar-Lev. The two praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for keeping his word of promoting the referendum bill and noted that the decision was an important step to consolidating the settlement enterprise in the Golan region.
Malka said, "This is good news for settlement in the Golan Heights. Prime Minister Netanyahu kept his word from the elections of advancing a bill requiring a referendum on any sovereign territory before its fate is decided." Bar-Lev added, "It’s a great feeling in light of the fact that there was a large majority for the decision. It illustrates the power and importance the Knesset attributes to the decision of maintaining Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights and other areas."
The two noted that Knesset Member Yariv Levin, chairman of the Knesset committee, promised to hold additional frequent discussions in order to promote the bill and prepare it for second and third readings.
