Rally in Majdal Shams
Photo: Avihu Shapira
Samir Kuntar honored
Photo: Avihu Shapira
Kuntar: Syrian flag will soon fly over Golan
Lebanese murderer, who was released as part of Israel-Hizbullah prisoner exchange deal, visits 'Shouting Hill' on Israeli-Syrian border, addresses hundreds of Druze residents rallying on other side
Some 500 residents of the Druze villages of Majdal Shams, Mas'ada, Buq'ata and Ein Quniya gathered on the "Shouting Hill" on the Israel-
Syria
border late Monday morning, where they were addressed by Samir Kuntar, the convicted murderer of the Haran family from Nahariya and police officer Eliyahu Shahar.
Kuntar, who is also a Druze, was released from Israeli prison as part of the prisoner swap deal
between the Jewish state and the Hizbullah
organization in exchange for the remains of kidnapped IDF soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser.
Kuntar (center) in brown coat (Photo: Avihu Shapira)
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Excitedly, he turned to the crowd on the Israeli side and said, "I came to this event from a meeting with (Syrian) President Bashar Assad who promised me he would help you. I'm telling you, President Assad will soon wave the Syrian flag over the Golan land."
Kuntar (center) in brown coat (Photo: Avihu Shapira)
According to the Syrian news agency, Kuntar received a special decoration from Assad for spending close to 30 years in the Israeli prison.
In Monday's special rally, Kuntar expressed his support for the Druze in their battle for the Liberation of the Golan Heights, and carried a message of support from Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
"We are waiting for one mistake on the part of the Zionists. You should know, those who resisted are waiting for you under the ground," he said.
IDF forces watch from afar
The rally was also attended by Knesset Member Said Naffaa (Balad) and Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the Islamic Movement's northern branch in Israel.
"I am accused of meeting with Syrian representatives, who are Golan residents carrying a Syrian flag," said Naffaa. "I was questioned by the police on this, and I can say that we're not afraid of jail and will continue to safeguard the interests of all the Arab people."
Kuntar was joined on the Syrian side of the border by hundreds of Druze residents from Syria, who are relatives of the Golan residents.
The protestors prayed, waved Syrian flag and sang the Syrian anthem, which was transmitted to the Israeli direction through a sound system. Druze dignitaries, men, women and children who were in their houses near the rally, stood to attention and quietly sand the Syrian anthem.
"Samir Kuntar illustrates that standing strong eventually yields the goal one set for oneself," said a pro-Syrian resident of Majdal Shams. "We hope to celebrate Syria's next independence day here, after the entire Golan Heights is returned as part of a peace agreement between the Israeli government and President Assad.
Most of the village's businesses were shut down ahead of the demonstration, and the protestors held pictures of President Assad and Kuntar, Syrian flags and signs supporting the Syrian regime.
"We came here today to honor Samir Kuntar," Abed Safadi, a restaurant owner, told Ynet. "He suffered so much in the Israeli prison. I hear you view him as a despicable murderer, but what are we supposed to think about your behavior and the IDF's conduct in Gaza and the West Bank towards the Palestinian people?"
Throughout the rally, which lasted three and a half hours, IDF forces stood some hundreds of meters away from the "Shouting Hill" in a bid to prevent disturbances. The event ended without any unusual incidents, with the Syrian and Israeli crowds leaving the place and returning to their villages.
Most of the residents who attended the rally found it difficult to conceal their excitement when they saw their relatives, whom they hadn't met face-to-face for years, on the other side of the border.
The Quneitra crossing is opened only several times a year in order to allow students to cross into Syria for studies, for the purpose of weddings and for the transfer of apples from the Druze orchards to Damascus' markets. The Residents are not allowed to cross from Syria to Israel or from Israel to Syria for the purpose of family reunion.
The residents of the Druze villages in the Golan are citizens of the State of Israel, but they hold rallies in support of the Syrian regime several times a year and call for the return of the Golan lands to Syria.
