Israel’s Golan Druze see a blow in wind energy plan

MAS’ADE, Golan Heights (AP) — Angry villagers fear that towering wind turbines may soon jut up from the picturesque patchwork of Druze farmland in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

They see the project as a threat to their agrarian way of life, an encroachment on ancestral lands and a solidification of Israel’s occupation of the territory.

Jewish communities have also opposed similar renewable energy projects, but the Druze view their predicament as particularly challenging.

Claiming they were duped into signing on to the project, they are a largely disenfranchised minority with no national political representation, hobbling the chances for a successful struggle against a state driven to wean the country off fossil fuels.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the territory in 1981.

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