June 23, 2023
Israel

Ben-Gvir and Druze leaders release contradictory statements after supposed wind turbine agreement

Adi Hashmonai and Josh Breiner | Jun 22, 2023 | haaretz.com

Druze community leaders claimed after the meeting that the turbines would stop immediately while Ben-Gvir said that they will stop just on the Eid al-Adha holiday.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced on Thursday that he and the leaders of the Druze community have agreed that construction of wind turbines in the Golan Heights will temporarily halt during the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Energix, who is working on building the turbines, also claimed that work would resume Friday morning until the start of the holiday on Tuesday. However, contrary to Ben-Gvir’s claims, Druze community leaders claimed after the meeting that the turbines would stop immediately. According to sources familiar with the details, work will not resume until the end of the holiday.

A statement released on behalf of Ben-Gvir, Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, and the Druze community leaders, said “Governance is important to all of us, the project will continue, and Israel will not surrender to those who throw Molotov cocktails and stones, and the Sheikh also unequivocally opposes it.”

A statement issued by the Druze said: “Representatives of the Druze community and government representatives will convene in the coming weeks in an attempt to reach an agreement.”

Earlier, the leaders of the Druze community submitted their demands to Ben-Gvir in light of the clashes that erupted between thousands of Druze protesters and the police on Wednesday. Among other things, community leaders demanded the repeal of the Nation-State Law, to anchor the status of the Druze community in the law and to immediately stop the infrastructure work for the construction of the wind turbines in the Golan Heights, over which the conflicts broke out.

“The Nation-State Law harmed the community’s sense of belonging,” the community leaders wrote. “The harm is felt among young people who feel that their Israeliness has been taken away from them. The wound caused by the Nation-State Law has not healed to this day,” they added.

Wednesday’s clashes with police, during demonstrations against the construction of wind turbines in the area, five people were arrested, and two were seriously wounded. Additionally, hundreds of protesters besieged the Masadeh police station, some of whom broke into the building and assaulted the officers. Others fired firecrackers at officers and hurled stones. Police stated that several officers were wounded from the stone throwing, and advised the public to avoid traveling to the Golan Heights.

Work on the wind turbines, carried out by the Energix company, began on Tuesday near the towns of Majdal Shams and Masadeh. Energix plans to build 23 wind turbines in the area at an estimated cost of 700 million shekels ($190 million). But residents of the nearby towns oppose this, saying that the turbines will dramatically alter the agricultural landscape of the area and make it more difficult to farm there.

Although some of the landowners originally signed contracts allowing the turbines to be built on their land, they faced pressure from other residents afterward, and most sought to retract their consent.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2023/06/23/ben-gvir-and-druze-leaders-release-contradictory-statements-after-supposed-wind-turbine-agreement/