Thousands of Druze clashed with Israeli police in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights during a demonstration against the construction of a wind farm in the area.
At least two protesters were critically injured, according to a statement released by Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service on Wednesday.
The Israeli police said in a statement that about a dozen police officers were lightly injured during the clashes and at least five protesters have been arrested, Xinhua news agency reported.
The protesters threw stones, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails at the police, and some of them shot live bullets towards police posts, the Israeli police said, adding they had responded by using stun grenades, tear gas, and a water cannon to disperse the protesters.
Several roads in the area were blocked due to the protest, and the police urged drivers to avoid the area.
The Hebrew-language Ha’aretz newspaper reported that an Israeli police spokesperson had called on the leaders of the Druze community “to calm tensions”.
The rare and intense demonstration was held in the Golan Heights to protest against an Israeli government plan to build wind turbines on private lands in the area as part of a green energy project.
Sheikh Ramez Rabah, a resident of the Druze town of Majdal Shams, said in an interview with Kan public radio that the landowners who initially agreed to sign deals to allow the government to utilise their lands for the project later changed their minds, expressing concerns about the turbines’ potential damage.
“There is damage. We have conducted research, and it affects our health as well as the bees in the area. They should not be permitted to be built there,” Rabah was quoted as saying.
The Druze community is part of Israel’s Arab minority, who comprises nearly 20 per cent of the country’s population. The Golan Heights was captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war and subsequently annexed, although the move has not been recognised by most of the international community.
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