“Murderer, get out of here”… Golan residents protest Netanyahu’s visit to Majdal Shams

Golan Heights - Ma'an - Hundreds of residents of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights on Monday rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the site of the shell that fell on the municipal stadium in the town of Majdal Shams. Hundreds of Golan residents gathered in the area where the shell fell as Netanyahu arrived, to express their rejection and protest of this visit and demand that he leave the town. They chanted towards Netanyahu: 'Murderer, get out of here, we don't want you, you are trash, don't exploit the disaster at the expense of our martyrs.' The residents chanted slogans rejecting Netanyahu's visit, and carried banners reading "war criminal" in reference to him. Local sources reported that Netanyahu was forced to leave the town following the protest refusing to receive him. Local sources reported that skirmishes took place between residents and the head of the local council over the arrangement and coordination to receive Israeli ministers and Knesset members in the town. The rel eased prisoner, poet Yasser Khanjar, said in an interview with Arab48 that 'in the Golan Heights, we suffer despite all the sensitive, oppressive, and tragic humanitarian circumstances that we are living through, but that does not make us forget who we are and what our connections and relationships are in life and society, specifically in the Palestinian reality.' He added, "We are a Syrian land that refuses to represent the criminal Israeli authority, and whoever kills in Gaza does so in the Golan and Lebanon, or is at least a partner in that." Khanjar stressed, "Our position is firm and clear, that we reject the idea of ??killing, occupation, and the seizure of lands, people's will, and their freedoms. Hence, our expression as Syrian Arabs and the families of the child victims came to hold the officials in the Israeli authorities responsible for their blood and every drop of blood shed in this country." The freed prisoner and social activist, Kanj Ismail Abu Saleh, told Arab48, 'This is an ugly visit tha t seeks out fabricated positions for political purposes that do not represent or express the reality of the situation of the Syrian people of the Golan.' He continued, "This visit is not only unwelcome, but we see it as provocative to offend the Golanis and their national positions known to everyone. We are going through extremely sensitive circumstances and there are parties seeking to implement political brokerage at the expense of blood and victims." Majdal Shams and the Golan Heights are filled with sadness and pain on the one hand, and anger and rejection on the other hand, due to the visit of Israeli ministers and Knesset members to the town following the fall of a rocket that resulted in 12 victims and about 30 wounded, most of them children, yesterday, Sunday. Netanyahu said during the visit he made with the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, that "what happened will not pass unnoticed by the State of Israel. Our response is coming and it will be strong." He added, "Hezbollah, with Iran's support, l aunched an Iranian missile that killed 12 pure souls while they were playing football and were unable to reach the shelter." Source: Maan News Agency