If the “rules-based order” had a motto, it might read: For some, the rules; for others, the exceptions. Israel’s Golan Heights expansion is the latest proof.
This week, it’s the Golan Heights—a region annexed by Israel in 1981 after being seized from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. On Sunday, Netanyahu announced plans to double the population there, justifying the move with the usual platitudes: “Strengthening the Golan is strengthening Israel,” he declared, with the kind of brazen confidence that would make a colonial administrator blush.
It comes after Israel agreed on Sunday to double its population on the occupied Golan Heights while saying threats from Syria remained despite the moderate tone of rebel leaders who ousted President Bashar al-Assad a week ago.
“Strengthening the Golan is strengthening the state of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold onto it, cause it to blossom, and settle in it,” Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said in a statement.
Of course, it’s not an invasion. It’s “blossoming” and “settlement”. Imagine if Putin had rebranded the Donbas as a ‘National Park’, maybe he’d have had better luck with Western PR. But no—Russia’s actions are “illegal annexation”, an invasion while Israel’s are a “strategic necessity.”

The timing couldn’t be more opportunistic. Syria’s Bashar al-Assad was ousted last week by Islamist rebel forces led by HTS head Ahmad al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani. The West’s best friend who not so long ago was waving the Black flag of global jihadist. Israel, always the opportunist, has moved into the demilitarised zone near Mount Hermon, citing “border security.” Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warns of looming threats
“The immediate risks to the country have not disappeared and the latest developments in Syria increase the strength of the threat – despite the moderate image that the rebel leaders claim to present,” Defence Minister Israel Katz told officials examining Israel’s defence budget, according to a statement.
Defence Minister Katz is presumably talking about threats from HTS rebels who he paradoxically claims, present a “moderate image”. —a linguistic gymnastics routine that would make George Orwell proud. The doublespeak is so thick you could spread it on toast.
This comes with Netanyahu’s cabinet rubber-stamping a 40-million-shekel (€10.5 million) demographic expansion plan for the Golan. Some 31,000 Israelis have settled there, said analyst Avraham Levine of the Alma Research and Education Center, which specialises in Israel’s security challenges on its northern border. Many work in farming, including vineyards, and tourism.
Neatly ignoring the 24,000 Druze inhabitants—most of whom still identify as Syrian— I expect they aren’t exactly thrilled with the occupation. But hey, nothing says “strategic plateau” like a tourist-friendly vineyard, guarded and patrolled by the IDF.

Syria, meanwhile, is busy licking its wounds after years of civil war, external attacks, and foreign interventions. The UN and European leaders urge Israel to withdraw from the buffer zone—a request met with a diplomatic shrug. Israel cites the collapse of the 1974 disengagement agreement, which apparently expired the moment Assad’s regime fell.
Syria’s new de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, accused Israel of fabricating excuses to justify its attacks but said he wasn’t interested in new conflicts while focusing on rebuilding the shattered nation. Still, one can’t help but wonder if there’s a quiet quid pro quo in play: HTS clears out Assad, and Israel gains free rein over the Golan Heights. Officially, Israel insists its incursion into Syrian territory is “temporary,” a measure for “border security.” Because history is filled with examples of temporary occupations that last indefinitely, ask the Palestinians.
The cherry on top of this geopolitical circus is the 2019 Trump-backed recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Rejected by most of the world, this endorsement was gleefully embraced by Israel, which now leverages it to justify ever-deeper incursions. As airstrikes pound Syrian military sites and infrastructure, the question isn’t whether Israel intends to stay—it’s how long they’ll pretend not to.
But don’t call it an invasion…
Aggression is a matter of perspective—ours is always justified…
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