Israel under pressure to re-open Golan border crossing with Quneitra to students

Israeli authorities are under pressure to re-open the border crossing between the Golan Heights and the Syrian province of Quneitra in order to allow students from the occupied territory to study at Syrian universities.

According to i24NEWS Arabic yesterday, anonymous confidential sources told it that a number of local and external parties have been pressuring Israeli authorities to re-open the border crossing with Quneitra, which was closed following the outbreak of the Syrian civil war 11 years ago.

Those putting pressure on the Israeli side reportedly include the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the religious leaders of Syrian citizens in the Golan, the leadership of the Druze community within Israel and that community’s spiritual head, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif.

The reports come after talks were recently held on the issue with both Russian and Israeli parties, according to the sources informing the outlet, emphasising that Sheikh Tarif has been consistently pursuing the matter.

Following the mounting pressure and calls to re-open the Quneitra crossing, registration lists for those aiming to study in Syria were reportedly opened to students in the Golan Heights. Israel’s Defence Ministry, however, denied that it received any official directives on the matter in recent months.

If the border crossing is re-opened, and students are allowed to make their way to Syrian universities, the number of those students from the Golan Heights is estimated to be dozens on an annual basis.

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