Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will convene a cabinet meeting in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights on Sunday to approve a plan to double the population of the region.
With the planned construction of new communities, thousands of housing units, and the creation of around 2,000 jobs, the government hopes the unprecedented billion-shekel effort will transform the Golan into Israel's renewable energy capital.
The government plans to invest 1 billion shekels (around $317 million) in the plan, a joint effort of most of the ministries.
Once approved, the plan will see 576 million shekels allotted toward planning and housing, including the approval of the construction of 3,300 housing units within five years in Katzrin.
Around 4,000 homes are set to be approved for the Golan Regional Council. In total, the plan is expected to lead to an increase of 23,000 residents in the Golan region.
In addition, the government intends to establish two new communities in the Golan, Assif and Matar, each of which will include some 2,000 housing units.
The government is further expected to approve the upgrade of emergency medical services and expansion of the frontline medical call center activity in Katrzin, the development of cybersecurity leadership in Katzrin, as well as expansive investment in both formal and informal education.
In addition, efforts will be made to develop tourism infrastructure, including through the paving of bicycle lanes and the providing grants for entrepreneurs in the hotel industry, as well as the marketing of new hotel complexes.
Justice Minister Gideon Saar said: "The future of the Golan will be determined with actions and not words. We have an opportunity to determine for generations the Golan's future as an inseparable part of the State of Israel.
"We are determining a realistic goal: Doubling the population in the Golan."
