GOLAN HEIGHTS, Wednesday, October 24, 2018 (WAFA) - Israel has hijacked and manipulated the tourism industry in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights to benefit itself while harming the local Syrian population, according to a new report by Al-Marsad, a Golan-based human rights organization.

The report, Monopolizing the Sites – The Politics of Tourism in the Occupied Syrian Golan, investigates and analyzes the tourism industry in the occupied Syrian Golan and discusses how Israel exploited these sites for its own benefit at the expense of the local Syrian population.

The report analyzes the numerous elements of the Israeli tourism industry in the Golan that contribute to the normalization of Israel’s occupation and continued discrimination against local Syrians.

It first examines the way in which Israel has manipulated the tourism industry in the Golan to serve its own interests in trying to claim the Golan as its own. It then discusses how the Israeli government perpetuates discriminatory policies that allow Israeli tourism businesses to thrive while destroying the local Syrians’ tourism initiatives.

The report also examines the Golan’s alternative tourism industry, which is struggling to counter the Israeli tourism trade.

“To date, Israel has monopolized the sites of the Golan,” said Al-Marsad in a press release. “Israel has tapped into the lucrative and thriving Golan tourism industry, with the help of multinational tourism companies, to solidify its claim over the Golan.”

Al-Marsad’s newest report hopes its investigation will “expose the discriminatory policies of the Israeli government and empower local Syrian tourism enterprises,” it added.

M.K.