Human Rights Watch Says Israel Funds War Crimes in Occupied Syrian Golan With $334 Million Plan

Human Rights Watch said the Israeli cabinet’s decision to move thousands of Israeli civilians to the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is “a clear declaration of intent to commit war crimes,” after the government approved a plan worth $334 million on 17 April.

“Human Rights Watch (HRW) has labeled Israel's latest development plan for the occupied Syrian Golan Heights as bankrolling war crimes”

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HRW’s Senior Syria Researcher, Hiba Ziadin, said the Israeli cabinet allocated public funds to commit war crimes in Syria while accelerating settlement expansion in the West Bank and continuing impunity for violence against Palestinians there.

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Ziadin added that the permanent transfer of populations to the Syrian territories violates international standards and has serious implications for Syrians who have been displaced for a long time.

HRW called on the European Union and its member states, the United Kingdom, and other countries to suspend their trade agreements with Israel and adopt a ban on trade and business with the illegal Israeli settlements, applying to both the Golan and the West Bank, as well as suspending arms transfers to Israel.

HRW also confirmed that prosecutors in third countries should open criminal investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction against Israeli officials and others proven to be involved in moving civilians to the occupied territories.

The report’s core allegation is that Israel’s settlement expansion in the Golan is not only development but a mechanism for forcible transfer, with HRW framing it as war-crimes financing.

HRW said the Israeli cabinet approved a plan to develop the Katserin settlement, established in 1977, to become what officials described as the “first city” in the Golan, with the declared objective of bringing 3,000 new settler families to the occupied territories by 2030.

The plan funds the settlement’s infrastructure, housing, public services, and academic facilities, including a new university branch and specialized medical facilities, according to HRW.

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HRW said the “Northern Tanova Directorate” will supervise the coordination of the project with local authorities, while another report version says a “regional administration body” will coordinate implementation with local authorities.

HRW also said companies that contribute to moving civilians to the occupied territories risk being complicit in violations of international humanitarian law and related war crimes, and that companies doing business with entities in the occupied Golan or operating there face the same risks.

The plan is described as a structured effort to reshape the occupied territory through settlement infrastructure and services, not just individual construction.

Across the accounts, HRW ties the settlement development to a broader pattern of population transfer and legal violations, emphasizing the role of public funding and the involvement of private actors.

HRW said Israel occupied the Golan Heights in 1967 and extended Israeli law to it in 1981 in a de facto annexation, while stating that the Golan remains occupied territory under international law.

“Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of committing war crimes in its settlement expansion plans in the occupied Golan Heights”

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HRW added that the United States is the only country in the world that recognizes Israel's alleged annexation of the territory, according to HRW.

The organization said that since 1967, Israeli authorities have prevented displaced Syrians, who retain the right of return, from returning to their homes in the occupied Golan, and that hundreds of villages and Syrian farms in the region have been destroyed.

HRW said that according to the Syrian government, the number of displaced people now, including their descendants, is in the hundreds of thousands.

HRW said that since the fall of the Assad government, Israeli forces have occupied Syrian territory outside the 1974 disengagement line and established several military sites within it, while carrying out ground incursions, frequent air raids, and other operations in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa, and Suwayda.

HRW said it documented serious violations during these operations, including the forcible displacement of Syrians from villages in the recently occupied area, which constitutes a war crime.

HRW’s recommendations in the reporting focus on trade restrictions, arms transfers, and criminal accountability beyond Israel.

HRW called on the European Union and its member states, the United Kingdom, and other countries to suspend their trade agreements with Israel and impose a ban on trade and business with illegal Israeli settlements, applying to the Golan and the West Bank.

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HRW also urged suspending arms transfers to Israel, and it confirmed that prosecutors in third countries should open criminal investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction against Israeli officials and others proven to be involved in moving civilians to the occupied territories.

In the Al Jazeera Net account, HRW framed the population transfer as violating international standards and said it has serious implications for Syrians who have been displaced for a long time.

In the SadaNews version, HRW similarly called for suspending trade agreements and imposing a ban on trade and business with illegal Israeli settlements, and it repeated the universal jurisdiction call for third-country prosecutors.

The Yaffa News Network version likewise urged the European Union, its member states, the United Kingdom, and other countries to suspend trade agreements and impose a ban on trade and business with illegal Israeli settlements, including in the Golan Heights and the West Bank, while also halting arms transfers to Israel.

HRW said the plan comes as Israel’s occupation forces expand further in southern Syria, and it tied the settlement initiative to a broader operational tempo.

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HRW stated that since the fall of the Assad government, Israeli forces have occupied Syrian territory outside the 1974 disengagement line and established several military sites within it, while carrying out ground incursions, frequent air raids, and other operations in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa, and Suwayda.

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The organization said it documented serious violations by the Israeli army during these operations, including the forcible displacement of Syrians from villages in the recently occupied area, which constitutes a war crime.

In the SadaNews version, HRW described “repeated ground attacks, air raids, and other operations” in the Quneitra, Daraa, and Sweida governorates, and it again described forced displacement as a war crime.

HRW’s conclusion in these accounts is that Syria’s government should build on initial steps toward transitional justice, including establishing a national transitional justice body to set legal frameworks for investigations and local prosecutions.

The Yaffa News Network version similarly concluded that Syria’s government should establish a national transitional justice body to develop legal frameworks for investigations and prosecutions.