Druze Villages in Golan Mark Day of Imposition of Israeli Law

Druze villages in the Golan Heights on Saturday marked the day Israeli law was imposed on the northern plateau.

The event is marked with processions and rallies in the four Golan Heights villages - Majdal Shams, Bukata, Masadeh and Ein Kinyeh. The main rally was to take place in Majdal Shams, which is the closet village to the Syrian border, and it coincides with another Druze rally on the other side of the border.

Police on Saturday said that only a few dozen people participated in the events, in comparison with hundreds in previous years, apparently due to the heavy snow storm in the area.

The Druze traditionally make use of the day to carry out vocal demonstrations between families living on either side of the Israeli-Syrian border, using loudspeakers to call out from a hill in the village of Majdal Shams named "the hill of shouting."

Golan Heights police commander Chief Superintendent Motti Avidan said Friday that no disturbances of the peace were expected, but that police would take precautionary measures and deploy forces outside the villages.

The Knesset in 1981 passed the Golan Heights law, in which Israel annexed the territory. The legislation states that the law, jurisdiction and administration of the state shall apply to the Golan Heights.