title: Golan Heights

text: Great Britain accepted a Mandate for Palestine at the meeting of the Allied Supreme Council at San Remo, but the borders of the territory were not defined at that stage. The boundary between the forthcoming British and French mandates was defined in broad terms by the Franco-British Boundary Agreement of December 1920. That agreement placed the bulk of the Golan Heights in the French sphere. The treaty also established a joint commission to settle the precise details of the border and mark it on the ground. The commission submitted its final report on 3 February 1922, and it was approved with some caveats by the British and French governments on 7 March 1923, several months before Britain and France assumed their Mandatory responsibilities on 29 September 1923. In accordance with the same process, a nearby parcel of land that included the ancient site of Tel Dan and the Dan spring were transferred from Syria to Palestine early in 1924. The Golan Heights, including the spring at Wazzani and the one at Banias, thus became part of French Syria, while the Sea of Galilee was placed entirely within British Mandatory Palestine. When the French Mandate for Syria ended in 1944, the Golan Heights became part of the newly independent state of Syria and was later incorporated into Quneitra Governorate.


title: Golan Heights

text: After the 1948–49 Arab–Israeli War, the Golan Heights were partly demilitarized by the Israel-Syria Armistice Agreement. During the following years, the area along the border witnessed thousands of violent incidents; the armistice agreement was being violated by both sides. The underlying causes of the conflict were a disagreement over the legal status of the demilitarised zone (DMZ), cultivation of land within it and competition over water resources. Syria claimed that neither party had sovereignty over the DMZ. Israel contended that the Armistice Agreement dealt solely with military concerns and that it had political and legal rights over the DMZ. Israel wanted to assert control up till the 1923 boundary in order to reclaim the Hula swamp, gain exclusive rights to Lake Galilee and divert water from the Jordan for its National Water Carrier. During the 1950s, Syria registered two principal territorial accomplishments: it took over Al Hammah enclosure south of Lake Tiberias and established a "de facto" presence on and control of eastern shore of the lake.


title: Golan Heights

text: The Jordan Valley Unified Water Plan was sponsored by the United States and agreed by the technical experts of the Arab League and Israel. The US funded the Israeli and Jordanian water diversion projects, when they pledged to abide by the plan's allocations. President Nasser too, assured the US that the Arabs would not exceed the plan's water quotas. However, in the early 1960s the Arab League funded a Syrian water diversion project that would have denied Israel use of a major portion of its water allocation. The resulting armed clashes are called the War over Water.


title: Golan Heights

text: in July 1966, Fatah began raids into Israeli territory in early 1965, with active support from Syria. At first the militants entered via Lebanon or Jordan, but those countries made concerted attempts to stop them and raids directly from Syria increased. Israel's response was a series of retaliatory raids, of which the largest were an attack on the Jordanian village of Samu in November 1966. In April 1967, after Syria heavily shelled Israeli villages from the Golan Heights, Israel shot down six Syrian MiG fighter planes and warned Syria against future attacks.


title: Golan Heights

text: In the period between the first Arab–Israeli War and the Six-Day War, the Syrians constantly harassed Israeli border communities by firing artillery shells from their dominant positions on the Golan Heights. In October 1966 Israel brought the matter up before the United Nations. Five nations sponsored a resolution criticizing Syria for its actions but it failed to pass due to a Soviet veto.


title: Golan Heights

text: Former Israeli General Mattityahu Peled said that more than half of the border clashes before the 1967 war "were a result of our security policy of maximum settlement in the demilitarised area." Israeli incursions into the zone were responded to with Syrians shooting. Israel in turn would retaliate with military force. Sir Alec Douglas-Home, former Prime Minister of the UK, stated that when he was visiting the Galilee a few months before the 1967 war "at regular intervals the Russian-built forts on the Golan Heights used to lob shells into the villages, often claiming civilian casualties." He said after the 1973 war that any agreement between the two sides "must clearly put a stop to that kind of offensive action."


title: Golan Heights

text: In 1976, former Israeli defense minister Moshe Dayan said Israel provoked more than 80% of the clashes with Syria in the run up to the 1967 war, although historians debate whether he was "giving an accurate account of the situation in 1967 or whether his version of what happened was colored by his disgrace after the 1973 Middle East war, when he was forced to resign as Defense Minister over the failure to anticipate the Arab attack." The provocation was sending a tractor to plow in the demilitarized areas. The Syrians responded by firing at the tractors and shelling Israeli settlements. Jan Mühren, a former UN observer in the area at the time, told a Dutch current affairs programme that Israel "provoked most border incidents as part of its strategy to annex more land". UN officials blamed both Israel and Syria for destabilizing the borders.


title: Golan Heights

text: After the Six-Day War broke out in June 1967, Syria's shelling greatly intensified and the Israeli army captured the Golan Heights on 9–10 June. The area that came under Israeli control as a result of the war consists of two geologically distinct areas: the Golan Heights proper, with a surface of , and the slopes of the Mt. Hermon range, with a surface of . The new ceasefire line was named the Purple Line. In the battle, 115 Israelis were killed and 306 wounded. An estimated 2,500 Syrians were killed, with another 5,000 wounded.


title: Golan Heights

text: During the war, between 80,000 and 131,000 Syrians fled or were driven from the Heights and around 7,000 remained in the Israeli-occupied territory. Israeli sources and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants reported that much of the local population of 100,000 fled as a result of the war, whereas the Syrian government stated that a large proportion of it was expelled. Israel has not allowed former residents to return, citing security reasons. The remaining villages were Majdal Shams, Shayta (later destroyed), Ein Qiniyye, Mas'ade, Buq'ata and, outside the Golan proper, Ghajar.


title: Golan Heights

text: Israeli settlement in the Golan began soon after the war. Merom Golan was founded in July 1967 and by 1970 there were 12 settlements. Construction of Israeli settlements began in the remainder of the territory held by Israel, which was under military administration until Israel passed the Golan Heights Law extending Israeli law and administration throughout the territory in 1981. On 19 June 1967, the Israeli cabinet voted to return the Golan to Syria in exchange for a peace agreement, although this was rejected after the Khartoum Resolution of 1 September 1967. In the 1970s, as part of the Allon Plan, Israeli politician Yigal Allon proposed that a Druze state be established in Syria's Quneitra Governorate, including the Israeli-held Golan Heights. Allon died in 1980 and his plan never materialised.


title: Golan Heights

text: During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Syrian forces overran much of the southern Golan, before being pushed back by an Israeli counterattack. Israel and Syria signed a ceasefire agreement in 1974 that left almost all the Heights in Israeli hands. The 1974 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria delineated a demilitarized zone along their frontier and limited the number of forces each side can deploy within 25 kilometers (15 miles) of the zone. East of the 1974 ceasefire line lies the Syrian controlled part of the Heights, an area that was not captured by Israel (500 square kilometres or 190 sq mi) or withdrawn from (100 square kilometres or 39 sq mi). This area forms 30% of the Golan Heights. Today, it contains more than 40 Syrian towns and villages. In 1975, following the 1974 ceasefire agreement, Israel returned a narrow demilitarised zone to Syrian control. Some of the displaced residents began returning to their homes located in this strip and the Syrian government began helping people rebuild their villages, except for Quneitra. In the mid-1980s the Syrian government launched a plan called "The Project for the Reconstruction of the Liberated Villages". By the end of 2007, the population of the Quneitra Governorate was estimated at 79,000.


title: Golan Heights

text: In the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, in which Syria tried but failed to recapture the Golan, Israel agreed to return about 5% of the territory to Syrian civilian control. This part was incorporated into a demilitarised zone that runs along the ceasefire line and extends eastward. This strip is under the military control of UNDOF.


title: Golan Heights

text: Mines deployed by the Syrian army remain active. As of 2003, there had been at least 216 landmine casualties in the Syrian-controlled Golan since 1973, of which 108 were fatalities.


title: Golan Heights

text: On 14 December 1981, Israel passed the Golan Heights Law, that extended Israeli "laws, jurisdiction and administration" to the Golan Heights. Although the law effectively annexed the territory to Israel, it did not explicitly spell out a formal annexation. The Golan Heights Law is not recognized internationally except (as of March 2019) by the United States, and was declared "null and void and without international legal effect" by United Nations Security Council Resolution 497. The resolution demanded Israel rescind its decision. Israel maintains that it may retain the area, as the text of Resolution 242 calls for "safe and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force". However, the international community reject Israeli claims to title to the territory and regards it as sovereign Syrian territory.


title: Golan Heights

text: During the negotiations regarding the text of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk explained that U.S. support for secure permanent frontiers did not mean the United States supported territorial changes. The UN representative for the United Kingdom who was responsible for negotiating and drafting the Security Council resolution said that the actions of the Israeli Government in establishing settlements and colonizing the Golan are in clear defiance of Resolution 242.


title: Golan Heights

text: Syria continued to demand a full Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders, including a strip of land on the east shore of the Sea of Galilee that Syria captured during the 1948–49 Arab–Israeli War and occupied from 1949 to 1967. Successive Israeli governments have considered an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan in return for normalization of relations with Syria, provided certain security concerns are met. Prior to 2000, Syrian president Hafez al-Assad rejected normalization with Israel.


title: Golan Heights

text: Since the passing of the Golan Heights Law, Israel has treated the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights as a subdistrict of its Northern District. The largest locality in the region is the Druze village of Majdal Shams, which is at the foot of Mount Hermon, while Katzrin is the largest Israeli settlement. The region has 1,176 square kilometers. The subdistrict has a population density of 36 inhabitants per square kilometer, and its population includes Arab, Jewish and Druze citizens. The district has 36 localities, of which 32 are Jewish settlements and four are Druze villages. The plan for the creation of the settlements, which had initially begun in October 1967 with a request for a regional agricultural settlement plan for the Golan, was formally approved in 1971 and later revised in 1976. The plan called for the creation of 34 settlements by 1995, one of which would be an urban center, Katzrin, and the rest rural settlements, with a population of 54,000, among them 40,000 urban and the remaining rural. By 1992, 32 settlements had been created, among them one city and two regional centers. The population total had however fallen short of Israel's goals, with only 12,000 Jewish inhabitants in the Golan settlements in 1992.


title: Golan Heights

text: In 2016, a group of Druze lawyers petitioned the Supreme Court of Israel to allow elections for local councils in the Golan Druze towns of Majdal Shams, Buq'ata, Mas'ade, and Ein Qiniyye, replacing the previous system in which their members were appointed by the national government.


title: Golan Heights

text: On 3 July 2017, the Interior Ministry announced those towns would be included in the 2018 Israeli municipal elections. The turnout was just over 1% with Druze religious leaders telling community members to boycott the elections or face shunning.


title: Golan Heights

text: The UN Human Rights Council issued a Resolution on Human Rights in the Occupied Syrian Golan on 23 March 2018 that included the statement "Deploring the announcement by the Israeli occupying authorities in July 2017 that municipal elections would be held on 30 October 2018 in the four villages in the occupied Syrian Golan, which constitutes another violation to international humanitarian law and to relevant Security Council resolutions, in particular resolution 497 (1981)".


title: Golan Heights

text: During United States-brokered negotiations in 1999–2000, Israel and Syria discussed a peace deal that would include Israeli withdrawal in return for a comprehensive peace structure, recognition and full normalization of relations. The disagreement in the final stages of the talks was on access to the Sea of Galilee. Israel offered to withdraw to the pre-1948 border (the 1923 Paulet-Newcombe line), while Syria insisted on the 1967 frontier. The former line has never been recognised by Syria, claiming it was imposed by the colonial powers, while the latter was rejected by Israel as the result of Syrian aggression. The difference between the lines is less than 100 meters for the most part, but the 1967 line would give Syria access to the Sea of Galilee, and Israel wished to retain control of the Sea of Galilee, its only freshwater lake and a major water resource. Dennis Ross, U.S. President Bill Clinton's chief Middle East negotiator, blamed "cold feet" on the part of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for the breakdown. Clinton also laid blame on Israel, as he said after the fact in his autobiography "My Life".


title: Golan Heights

text: In June 2007, it was reported that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had sent a secret message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad saying that Israel would concede the land in exchange for a comprehensive peace agreement and the severing of Syria's ties with Iran and militant groups in the region. On the same day, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the former Syrian President, Hafez Assad, had promised to let Israel retain Mount Hermon in any future agreement.


title: Golan Heights

text: In April 2008, Syrian media reported Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had told President Bashar al-Assad that Israel would withdraw from the Golan Heights in return for peace. Israeli leaders of communities in the Golan Heights held a special meeting and stated: "all construction and development projects in the Golan are going ahead as planned, propelled by the certainty that any attempt to harm Israeli sovereignty in the Golan will cause severe damage to state security and thus is doomed to fail". A survey found that 70% of Israelis oppose relinquishing the Golan for peace with Syria. That year, a plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution 161–1 in favour of a motion on the Golan Heights that reaffirmed UN Security Council Resolution 497 and called on Israel to desist from "changing the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan and, in particular, to desist from the establishment of settlements [and] from imposing Israeli citizenship and Israeli identity cards on the Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan and from its repressive measures against the population of the occupied Syrian Golan." Israel was the only nation to vote against the resolution. Indirect talks broke down after the Gaza War began. Syria broke off the talks to protest Israeli military operations. Israel subsequently appealed to Turkey to resume mediation.


title: Golan Heights

text: In May 2009, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that returning the Golan Heights would turn it into "Iran's front lines which will threaten the whole state of Israel." He said: "I remember the Golan Heights without Katzrin, and suddenly we see a thriving city in the Land of Israel, which having been a gem of the Second Temple era has been revived anew." American diplomat Martin Indyk said that the 1999–2000 round of negotiations began during Netanyahu's first term (1996–1999), and he was not as hardline as he made out.


title: Golan Heights

text: In March 2009, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad claimed that indirect talks had failed after Israel did not commit to full withdrawal from the Golan Heights. In August 2009, he said that the return of the entire Golan Heights was "non-negotiable," it would remain "fully Arab," and would be returned to Syria.


title: Golan Heights

text: In June 2009, Israeli President Shimon Peres said that Assad would have to negotiate without preconditions, and that Syria would not win territorial concessions from Israel on a "silver platter" while it maintained ties with Iran and Hezbollah. In response, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem demanded that Israel unconditionally cede the Golan Heights "on a silver platter" without any preconditions, adding that "it is our land," and blamed Israel for failing to commit to peace. Syrian President Assad claimed that there was "no real partner in Israel."


title: Golan Heights

text: In 2010, Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said: "We must make Syria recognise that just as it relinquished its dream of a greater Syria that controls Lebanon ... it will have to relinquish its ultimate demand regarding the Golan Heights."


title: Golan Heights

text: From 2012 to 2018 in the Syrian Civil War, the eastern Golan Heights became a scene of repeated battles between the Syrian Arab Army, rebel factions of the Syrian opposition including the moderate Southern Front and jihadist al-Nusra Front, and factions affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group.


title: Golan Heights

text: The atrocities of the Syrian Civil War and the rise of ISIL, which from 2016 to 2018 controlled parts of the Syrian-administered Golan, have added a new twist to the issue. In 2015, it was reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked US President Barack Obama to recognize Israeli claims to the territory because of these recent ISIL actions and because he said that modern Syria had likely "disintegrated" beyond the point of reunification. The White House dismissed Netanyahu's suggestion, stating that President Obama continued to support UN resolutions 242 and 497, and any alterations of this policy could strain American alliances with Western-backed Syrian rebel groups. In May 2018, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched "extensive" air strikes against alleged Iranian military installations in Syria after 20 Iranian rockets were reportedly launched at Israeli army positions in the Western Golan Heights.


title: Golan Heights

text: On 17 April 2018 in the aftermath of the 2018 missile strikes against Syria by the United States, France, and the United Kingdom about 500 Druze in the Golan town of Ein Qiniyye marched in support of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on Syria's Independence day and in condemnation of the American-led strikes.


title: Golan Heights

text: On 31 July 2018, after waging a month-long military offensive against the rebels and ISIL, the Syrian government regained control of the eastern Golan Heights.


title: Golan Heights

text: Claims on the territory include the fact that an area in northwestern of the Golan region, delineated by a rough triangle formed by the towns of Banias, Quneitra and the northern tip of the Sea of Galilee, was part of the British Palestine Mandate in which the establishment of a Jewish national home had been promised. In 1923, this triangle in northwestern Golan was ceded to the French Mandate in Syria, but in exchange for this, land areas in Syria and Lebanon was ceded to Palestine, and the whole of the Sea of Galilee which previously had its eastern boundary connected to Syria was placed inside Palestine. Syrian counters that the region was placed in the Vilayet of Damascus as part of Syria under the Ottoman boundaries, and that the 1920 Franco-British agreement, which had placed part of the Golan under the control of Britain, was only temporary. Syria further holds that the final border line drawn up in 1923, which excluded the Golan triangle, had superseded the 1920 agreement, although Syria has never recognised the 1923 border as legally binding.


title: Golan Heights

text: One of the aspects of the dispute involves the existence prior to 1967 of three different lines separating Syria from the area that before 1948 was referred to as Mandatory Palestine.


title: Golan Heights

text: The 1923 boundary between British Mandatory Palestine and the French Mandate of Syria was drawn with water in mind. Accordingly, it was demarcated so that all of the Sea of Galilee, including a 10-meter wide strip of beach along its northeastern shore, would stay inside Mandatory Palestine. From the Sea of Galilee north to Lake Hula the boundary was drawn between 50 and 400 meters east of the upper Jordan River, keeping that stream entirely within Mandatory Palestine. The British also received a sliver of land along the Yarmouk River, out to the present-day Hamat Gader.


title: Golan Heights

text: During the Arab–Israeli War, Syria captured various areas of the formerly British controlled Mandatory Palestine, including the 10-meter strip of beach, the east bank of the upper Jordan, as well as areas along the Yarmouk.


title: Golan Heights

text: While negotiating the 1949 Armistice Agreements, Israel called for the removal of all Syrian forces from the former Palestine territory. Syria refused, insisting on an armistice line based not on the 1923 international border but on the military status quo. The result was a compromise. Under the terms of an armistice signed on 20 July 1949, Syrian forces were to withdraw east of the old Palestine-Syria boundary. Israeli forces were to refrain from entering the evacuated areas, which would become a demilitarised zone, "from which the armed forces of both Parties shall be totally excluded, and in which no activities by military or paramilitary forces shall be permitted." Accordingly, major parts of the armistice lines departed from the 1923 boundary and protruded into Israel. There were three distinct, non-contiguous enclaves—in the extreme northeast to the west of Banias, on the west bank of the Jordan River near Lake Hula, and the eastern-southeastern shores of the Sea of Galilee extending out to Hamat Gader, consisting of of land lying between the 1949 armistice line and the 1923 boundary, forming the demilitarised zone.


title: Golan Heights

text: Following the armistice, both Israel and Syria sought to take advantage of the territorial ambiguities left in place by the 1949 agreement. This resulted in an evolving tactical situation, one "snapshot" of which was the disposition of forces immediately prior to the Six-Day War, the "line of June 4, 1967".


title: Golan Heights

text: On 7 June 2000, the demarcation "Blue Line" was established by the United Nations in order to ensure full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, according to UN Security Council Resolution 425. After Israeli troops left Lebanese soil, the UN announced the resolution had been respected. However, Lebanon continues to claim a small portion of the area occupied by Israel and administered as part of the Golan Heights. The territory, known as the Shebaa Farms, measures and lies on the border between Lebanon and the Golan Heights. Maps used by the UN in demarcating the Blue Line were not able to conclusively show the border between Lebanon and Syria in the area. Syria agrees that the Shebaa Farms are within Lebanese territory; however, Israel considers the area to be inside of Syria's borders and continues to occupy the territory.


title: Golan Heights

text: The village of Ghajar is another complex border issue west of Shebaa farms. Before the 1967 war this Alawite village was in Syria. Residents of Ghajar accepted Israeli citizenship in 1981. It is divided by an international boundary, with the northern part of the village on the Lebanese side since 2000. Most residents hold dual Syrian and Israeli citizenship. Residents of both parts hold Israeli citizenship, and in the northern part often a Lebanese passport as well. Today the entire village is surrounded by a fence, with no division between the Israeli-occupied and Lebanese sides. There is an Israeli army checkpoint at the entrance to the village from the rest of the Golan Heights.


title: Golan Heights

text: The international community, with the exception of the United States, considers the Golan to be Syrian territory held under Israeli occupation. Many states recognize the Israeli occupation as being valid under the United Nations Charter on a self-defense basis, entitling Israel to extract concessions to guarantee its security from the Syrians in return for the territory. These states do not consider those concerns to allow for the annexation of territory captured by force. The United States, in 2019, became the first country to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the territory it has held since 1967. The European members of the UN Security Council issued a joint statement condemning the US announcement and the UN Secretary-General issued a statement saying that the status of the Golan had not changed. Under the subsequent Biden administration, the US State Department's annual report on human rights violations around the world once more refers to the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights as being territories occupied by Israel. However, in June 2021, the US' Biden administration affirmed that it will continue to maintain the previous administration's policy of recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. However, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has "signalled openness to an eventual policy review".


title: Golan Heights

text: UNDOF (the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force) was established in 1974 to supervise the implementation of the Agreement on Disengagement and maintain the ceasefire with an area of separation known as the UNDOF Zone. Currently there are more than 1,000 UN peacekeepers there trying to sustain a peace. Syria and Israel still contest the ownership of the Heights but have not used overt military force since 1974. The great strategic value of the Heights both militarily and as a source of water means that a deal is uncertain. Members of the UN Disengagement force are usually the only individuals who cross the Israeli–Syrian de facto border (cease fire "Alpha Line"), but since 1988 Israel has allowed Druze pilgrims to cross into Syria to visit the shrine of Abel on Mount Qasioun. Since 1967, Druze brides have been allowed to cross into Syria, although they do so in the knowledge that they may not be able to return.


title: Golan Heights

text: Though the cease fire in the UNDOF zone has been largely uninterrupted since the seventies, in 2012 there were repeated violations from the Syrian side, including tanks and live gunfire, though these incidents are attributed to the ongoing Syrian Civil War rather than intentionally directed towards Israel. On 15 October 2018 the Quneitra border crossing between the Golan Heights and Syria reopened for United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) personnel after four years of closure.


title: Golan Heights

text: The population of the Golan Heights prior to the 1967 Six-Day War has been estimated between 130,000 and 145,000, including 17,000 Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA. Between 80,000 and 130,000 Syrians fled or were driven from the Heights during the Six-Day War and around 7,000 remained in the Israeli-held territory in six villages: Majdal Shams, Mas'ade, Buq'ata, Ein Qiniyye, Ghajar and Shayta.


title: Golan Heights

text: Israel demolished over one hundred Syrian villages and farms in the Golan Heights. After the demolitions, the lands were given to Israeli settlers.


title: Golan Heights

text: Quneitra was the largest town in the Golan Heights until 1967, with a population of 27,000. It was occupied by Israel on the last day of the Six-Day War and handed back to Syrian civil control per the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. But the Israelis had destroyed Quneitra with dynamite and bulldozers before they withdrew from the city.


title: Golan Heights

text: East of the 1973 ceasefire line, in the Syrian controlled part of the Golan Heights, an area of , are more than 40 Syrian towns and villages, including Quneitra, Khan Arnabah, al-Hamidiyah, al-Rafid, al-Samdaniyah, al-Mudariyah, Beer Ajam, Bariqa, Ghadir al-Bustan, Hader, Juba, Kodana, Ufaniyah, Ruwayhinah, Nabe' al-Sakhar, Trinjah, Umm al-A'zam, and Umm Batna. The population of the Quneitra Governorate numbers 79,000.


title: Golan Heights

text: Once annexing the Golan Heights in 1981, the Israeli government offered all non-Israelis living in the Golan citizenship, but until the early 21st century fewer than 10% of the Druze were Israeli citizens; the remainder held Syrian citizenship. The Golan Alawites in the village of Ghajar accepted Israeli citizenship in 1981. In 2012, due to the situation in Syria, young Druze have applied to Israeli citizenship in much larger numbers than in previous years.


title: Golan Heights

text: In 2012, there were 20,000 Druze with Syrian citizenship living in the Israeli-occupied portion Golan Heights.


title: Golan Heights

text: The Druze living in the Golan Heights are permanent residents of Israel. They hold laissez-passers issued by the Israeli government, and enjoy the country's social-welfare benefits. The pro-Israeli Druze were historically ostracized by the pro-Syrian Druze. Reluctance to accept citizenship also reflects fear of ill treatment or displacement by Syrian authorities should the Golan Heights eventually be returned to Syria. According to "The Independent", most Druze in the Golan Heights live relatively comfortable lives in a freer society than they would have in Syria under Assad's government. According to Egypt's "Daily Star", their standard of living vastly surpasses that of their counterparts on the Syrian side of the border. Hence their fear of a return to Syria, though most of them identify themselves as Syrian, but feel alienated from the "autocratic" government in Damascus. According to the Associated Press, "many young Druse have been quietly relieved at the failure of previous Syrian–Israeli peace talks to go forward." On the other hand, expressing pro-Syrian rhetoric, "The Economist" found, represents the Golan Druzes' view that by doing so they may be potentially rewarded by Syria, while simultaneously risking nothing in Israel's freewheeling society. "The Economist" likewise reported that "Some optimists see the future Golan as a sort of Hong Kong, continuing to enjoy the perks of Israel's dynamic economy and open society, while coming back under the sovereignty of a stricter, less developed Syria." The Druze are also reportedly well-educated and relatively prosperous, and have made use of Israel's universities.


title: Golan Heights

text: Since 1988, Druze clerics have been permitted to make annual religious pilgrimages to Syria. Since 2005, Israel has allowed Druze farmers to export some 11,000 tons of apples to the rest of Syria each year, constituting the first commercial relations between Syria and Israel.


title: Golan Heights

text: Since the breakout of the Syrian Civil War in 2012, the number of applications for Israeli citizenship is growing, although Syrian loyalty remains strong and those who apply for citizenship are often ostracized by members of the older generation.


title: Golan Heights

text: Israeli settlement activity began in the 1970s. The area was governed by military administration until 1981 when Israel passed the Golan Heights Law, which extended Israeli law and administration throughout the territory. This move was condemned by the United Nations Security Council in UN Resolution 497, although Israel states it has a right to retain the area, citing the text of UN Resolution 242, adopted after the Six-Day War, which calls for "safe and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force". The continued Israeli control of the Golan Heights remains highly contested and is still regarded as belligerent occupation by most countries. The international community rejects the validity of the Golan Heights Law as an attempted annexation by force, illegal under the UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions. Israeli settlements and human rights policy in the occupied territory have also drawn criticism from the UN.


title: Golan Heights

text: The Israeli-occupied territory is administered by the Golan Regional Council, based in Katzrin, which has a population of 6,400. There are another 19 moshavim and 10 kibbutzim. In 1989, the Israeli settler population was 10,000. By 2010 the Israeli settler population had expanded to 20,000 living in 32 settlements, and by 2019 had expanded to 22,000.


title: Golan Heights

text: On 23 April 2019, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he will bring a resolution for government approval to name a new community in the Golan Heights after U.S. President Donald Trump. The planned settlement was unveiled as Trump Heights on 16 June 2019.


title: Golan Heights

text: The plateau that Israel controls is part of a larger area of volcanic basalt fields stretching north and east that were created in the series of volcanic eruptions that began recently in geological terms, almost 4 million years ago. The rock forming the mountainous area in the northern Golan Heights, descending from Mount Hermon, differs geologically from the volcanic rocks of the plateau and has a different physiography. The mountains are characterised by lighter-colored, Jurassic-age limestone of sedimentary origin. Locally, the limestone is broken by faults and solution channels to form a karst-like topography in which springs are common.


title: Golan Heights

text: Geologically, the Golan plateau and the Hauran plain to the east constitute a Holocene volcanic field that also extends northeast almost to Damascus. Much of the area is scattered with dormant volcanos, as well as cinder cones, such as Majdal Shams. The plateau also contains a crater lake, called Birkat Ram ("Ram Pool"), which is fed by both surface runoff and underground springs. These volcanic areas are characterised by basalt bedrock and dark soils derived from its weathering. The basalt flows overlie older, distinctly lighter-colored limestones and marls, exposed along the Yarmouk River in the south.


title: Golan Heights

text: The Golan Heights have distinct geographic boundaries. On the north, the Sa'ar Stream (a tributary of Nahal Hermon/Nahr Baniyas) generally divides the lighter-colored limestone bedrock of Mount Hermon from the dark-colored volcanic rocks of the Golan plateau. The western border of the plateau is truncated structurally by the Jordan Rift Valley, which falls down steeply into the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret, Lake Tiberias). The southern border is lined by the Yarmouk River, which separates the plateau from the northern region of Jordan. Finally, the eastern edge of the Golan Heights is carved out by the Raqqad river (Wadi ar-Ruqqad), along which are stretching the areas still controlled by Syria.


title: Golan Heights

text: Israel has captured, according to its own data, . According to Syria, the Golan Heights measures , of which are occupied by Israel. According to the CIA, Israel holds .


title: Golan Heights

text: The area is hilly and elevated, overlooking the Jordan Rift Valley which contains the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River, and is itself dominated by the tall Mount Hermon. The Sea of Galilee at the southwest corner of the plateau and the Yarmouk River to the south are at elevations well below sea level (the sea of Galilee at about ).


title: Golan Heights

text: Topographically, the Golan Heights is a plateau with an average altitude of 1,000 metres, rising northwards toward Mount Hermon and sloping down to about elevation along the Yarmouk River in the south. The steeper, more rugged topography is generally limited to the northern half, including the foothills of Mount Hermon; on the south the plateau is more level.


title: Golan Heights

text: There are several small peaks on the Golan Heights, most of them volcanic cones, such as: Mount Agas (1,350 m), Mount Dov/Jebel Rous (1,529 m; northern peak 1,524 m), Mount Bental (1171 m) and opposite it Mount Avital (1204 m), Mount Ram (1188 m), Tal Saki (594 m).


title: Golan Heights

text: The broader Golan plateau exhibits a more subdued topography, generally ranging between in elevation. In Israel, the Golan plateau is divided into three regions: northern (between the Sa'ar and Jilabun valleys), central (between the Jilabun and Daliyot valleys), and southern (between the Daliyot and Yarmouk valleys). The Golan Heights is bordered on the west by a rock escarpment that drops to the Jordan River valley and the Sea of Galilee. In the south, the incised Yarmouk River valley marks the limits of the plateau and, east of the abandoned railroad bridge upstream of Hamat Gader and Al Hammah, it marks the recognised international border between Syria and Jordan.


title: Golan Heights

text: In addition to its strategic military importance, the Golan Heights is an important water resource, especially at the higher elevations, which are snow-covered in the winter and help sustain baseflow for rivers and springs during the dry season. The Heights receive significantly more precipitation than the surrounding, lower-elevation areas. The occupied sector of the Golan Heights provides or controls a substantial portion of the water in the Jordan River watershed, which in turn provides a portion of Israel's water supply. The Golan Heights supplies 15% of Israel's water.


title: Golan Heights

text: The Golan Heights features numerous archeological sites, mountains, streams and waterfalls. Throughout the region 25 ancient synagogues have been found dating back to the Roman and Byzantine periods.


title: Golan Heights

text: Deir Qeruh is a ruined Byzantine-period and Syrian village. Founded in 4th century CE, it has a monastery and church of St George from the 6th century. The church has a square apse – a feature known from ancient Syria and Jordan, but not present in churches west of the Jordan River.


title: Golan Heights

text: Kursi is an archaeological site and national park on the shore of the Sea of Galilee at the foothills of the Golan, containing the ruins of a Byzantine Christian monastery connected to the Gospels (Gergesa).


title: Golan Heights

text: Katzrin Ancient Village is an archaeological site on the outskirts of Katzrin where the remains of a Talmud-era village and synagogue have been reconstructed. Golan Archaeological Museum hosts archaeological finds uncovered in the Golan Heights from prehistoric times. A special focus concerns Gamla and excavations of synagogues and Byzantine churches.


title: Golan Heights

text: Golan Heights Winery, a major Israeli winery, and the mineral water plant of Mey Eden, which derives its water from the spring of Salukiya (or Salukia) in the Golan. One can tour these factories as well as factories of oil products and fruit products.


title: Golan Heights

text: Two open air strip malls, one which holds the "Kesem ha-Golan" (Golan Magic), a three-dimensional movie and model of the geography and history of the Golan Heights.


title: Golan Heights

text: Gamla Nature Reserve is an open park with the archaeological remains of the ancient Jewish city of Gamla — including a tower, wall and synagogue. It is also the site of a large waterfall, an ancient Byzantine church, and a panoramic spot to observe the nearly 100 vultures that dwell in the cliffs. Israeli scientists study the vultures and tourists can watch them fly and nest.


title: Golan Heights

text: Rujm el-Hiri is a large circular stone monument similar to Stonehenge. Excavations since 1968 have not uncovered material remains common to archaeological sites in the region. Archaeologists believe the site may have been a ritual center linked to a cult of the dead. A 3D model of the site exists in the Museum of Golan Antiquities in Katzrin.


title: Golan Heights

text: Um el Kanatir is another impressive set of standing ruins of a village of the Byzantine era. The site includes a very large synagogue and two arches next to a natural spring.


title: Golan Heights

text: The Nimrod Fortress was built against the Crusaders, served the Ayyubids and Mamluks, and was captured only once, in 1260, by the Mongols. It is now located inside a nature reserve.


title: Golan Heights

text: A ski resort on the slopes of Mount Hermon features a wide range of ski trails and activities. Several restaurants are located in the area. The Lake Ram crater lake is nearby.


title: Golan Heights

text: Hippos is an ancient Greco-Roman city, known in Arabic as Qal'at al-Hisn and in Aramaic as Susita. The archaeological site includes excavations of the city's forum, the small imperial cult temple, a large Hellenistic temple compound, the Roman city gates, and two Byzantine churches.


title: Golan Heights

text: Senaim is an archaeological site in northern Golan Heights that includes both Roman and Ancient Greek temples. Byzantine and Mamluk coins have also been found at this site.


title: Golan Heights

text: On a visit to Israel and the Golan Heights in 1972, Cornelius Ough, a professor of viticulture and oenology at the University of California, Davis, pronounced conditions in the Golan very suitable for the cultivation of wine grapes. A consortium of four kibbutzim and four moshavim took up the challenge, clearing 250 burnt-out tanks in the Golan's Valley of Tears to plant vineyards for what would eventually become the Golan Heights Winery. The first vines were planted in 1976, and the first wine was released by the winery in 1983. The heights are now home to about a dozen wineries.


title: Golan Heights

text: In the early 1990s, the Israel National Oil Company (INOC) was granted shaft-sinking permits in the Golan Heights. It estimated a recovery potential of two million barrels of oil, equivalent at the time to $24 million. During the Yitzhak Rabin administration (1992–1995), the permits were suspended as efforts were undertaken to restart peace negotiations between Israel and Syria. In 1996, Benjamin Netanyahu granted preliminary approval to INOC to proceed with oil exploration drilling in the Golan. INOC began undergoing a process of privatization in 1997, overseen by then-Director of the Government Companies Authority (GCA), Tzipi Livni. During that time, it was decided that INOC's drilling permits would be returned to the state. In 2012, National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau approved exploratory drilling for oil and natural gas in the Golan. The following year, the Petroleum Council of Israel's Ministry of Energy and Water Resources secretly awarded a drilling license covering half the area of the Golan Heights to a local subsidiary of New Jersey-based Genie Energy Ltd. headed by Effi Eitam.


title: Golan Heights

text: Human rights groups have said that the drilling violates international law, as the Golan Heights are an occupied territory.


title: Golan Heights

text: On 18 November 2021, the United Nations Second Committee approved a draft resolution that demanded that: ""Israel, the occupying Power, cease the exploitation, damage, cause of loss or depletion and endangerment of the natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan""


title: Amaranth

text: Amaranthus is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely packed flowers grow in summer or autumn. Amaranth varies in flower, leaf, and stem color with a range of striking pigments from the spectrum of maroon to crimson and can grow longitudinally from tall with a cylindrical, succulent, fibrous stem that is hollow with grooves and bracteoles when mature.


title: Amaranth

text: There are approximately 75 species in the genus, 10 of which are dioecious and native to North America with the remaining 65 monoecious species endemic to every continent (except Antarctica) from tropical lowlands to the Himalayas. Members of this genus share many characteristics and uses with members of the closely related genus "Celosia". Amaranth grain is collected from the genus. The leaves of some species are also eaten.


title: Amaranth

text: Amaranth is a herbaceous plant or shrub that is either annual or perennial across the genus. Flowers vary interspecifically from the presence of 3 or 5 tepals and stamens, whereas a 7-porate pollen grain structure remains consistent across the family. Species across the genus contain concentric rings of vascular bundles, and fix carbon efficiently with a C4 photosynthetic pathway. Leaves are approximately and of oval or elliptical shape that are either opposite or alternate across species, although most leaves are whole and simple with entire margins.


title: Amaranth

text: Amaranth has a primary root with deeper spreading secondary fibrous root structures. Inflorescences are in the form a large panicle that varies from terminal to axial, color, and sex. The tassel of fluorescence is either erect or bent and varies in width and length between species. Flowers are radially symmetric and either bisexual or unisexual with very small, bristly perianth and pointy bracts. Species in this genus are either monecious (e.g. "A. hybridus,") or dioecious (e.g. "A. palmeri"). Fruits are in the form of capsules referred to as a "unilocular pixdio" that opens at maturity. The top (operculum) of the unilocular pixdio releases the urn that contains the seed. Seeds are circular form from 1 to 1.5 millimeters in diameter and range in color with a shiny, smooth seed coat. The panicle is harvested 200 days after cultivation with approximately 1,000 to 3,000 seeds harvested per gram.


title: Amaranth

text: Amaranth grain contains phytochemicals that are not defined as nutrients and may be antinutrient factors, such as polyphenols, saponins, tannins, and oxalates. These compounds are reduced in content and antinutrient effect by cooking.


title: Amaranth

text: "Amaranthus" shows a wide variety of morphological diversity among and even within certain species. "Amaranthus" is part of the Amaranthaceae that is part of the larger grouping of the Carophyllales. Although the family (Amaranthaceae) is distinctive, the genus has few distinguishing characters among the 75 species present across six continents. This complicates taxonomy and "Amaranthus" has generally been considered among systematists as a "difficult" genus and hybridize often.


title: Amaranth

text: In 1955, Sauer classified the genus into two subgenera, differentiating only between monoecious and dioecious species: "Acnida" (L.) Aellen ex K.R. Robertson and "Amaranthus". Although this classification was widely accepted, further infrageneric classification was (and still is) needed to differentiate this widely diverse group. Mosyakin and Robertson 1996 later divided into three subgenera: Acnida, Amaranthus, and Albersia. The support for the addition of the subdivision Albersia because of its indehiscent fruits coupled with three elliptic to linear tepals to be exclusive characters to members of this subgenus. The classification of these groups are further supported with a combination of floral characters, reproductive strategies, geographic distribution, and molecular evidence.


title: Amaranth

text: The phylogenies of "Amaranthus" using maximum parsimony and Bayesian analysis of nuclear and chloroplast genes suggest five clades within the genus: Diecious / Pumilus, Hybris, Galapagos, Eurasian/ South African, Australian (ESA), ESA + South American.


title: Amaranth

text: "Amaranthus" includes three recognised subgenera and 75 species, although species numbers are questionable due to hybridisation and species concepts. Infrageneric classification focuses on inflorescence, flower characters and whether a species is monoecious/dioecious, as in the Sauer (1955) suggested classification. Bracteole morphology present on the stem is used for taxonomic classification of Amaranth. Wild species have longer bracteoles compared to cultivated species. A modified infrageneric classification of "Amaranthus" includes three subgenera: "Acnida", "Amaranthus", and "Albersia", with the taxonomy further differentiated by sections within each of the subgenera.


title: Amaranth

text: There is near certainty that "A. hypochondriacus" is the common ancestor to the cultivated grain species, however the later series of domestication to follow remains unclear. There has been opposing hypotheses of a single as opposed to multiple domestication events of the three grain species. There is evidence of phylogenetic and geographical support for clear groupings that indicate separate domestication events in South America and Central America. "A. hybridus" may derive from South America, whereas "A. caudatus", "A. hypochondriacus", and "A. quentiensis" are native to Central and North America.


title: Amaranth

text: "Amaranth" derives from Greek (), "unfading", with the Greek word for "flower", (), factoring into the word's development as "amaranth, the unfading flower". "Amarant" is an archaic variant. The name was first applied to the related "Celosia" ("Amaranthus" and "Celosia" share long-lasting dried flowers), as "Amaranthus" plants were not yet known in Europe.


title: Amaranth

text: Amaranth weed species have an extended period of germination, rapid growth, and high rates of seed production, and have been causing problems for farmers since the mid-1990s. This is partially due to the reduction in tillage, reduction in herbicidal use and the evolution of herbicidal resistance in several species where herbicides have been applied more often. The following 9 species of "Amaranthus" are considered invasive and noxious weeds in the U.S and Canada: "A. albus", "A. blitoides", "A. hybridus", "A. palmeri", "A. powellii", "A. retroflexus", "A. spinosus", "A. tuberculatus", and "A. viridis".


title: Amaranth

text: A new herbicide-resistant strain of "A. palmeri" has appeared; it is glyphosate-resistant and so cannot be killed by herbicides using the chemical. Also, this plant can survive in tough conditions. The species "Amaranthus palmeri" (Palmer amaranth) causes the greatest reduction in soybean yields and has the potential to reduce yields by 17-68% in field experiments. Palmer amaranth is among the "top five most troublesome weeds" in the southeast of the United States and has already evolved resistances to dinitroaniline herbicides and acetolactate synthase inhibitors. This makes the proper identification of "Amaranthus" species at the seedling stage essential for agriculturalists. Proper weed control needs to be applied before the species successfully colonizes in the crop field and causes significant yield reductions.


title: Amaranth

text: An evolutionary lineage of around 90 species within the genus has acquired the carbon fixation pathway, which increases their photosynthetic efficiency. This probably occurred in the Miocene.


title: Amaranth

text: All parts of the plant are considered edible, though some may have sharp spines that need to be removed before consumption.


title: Amaranth

text: Uncooked amaranth grain by weight is 12% water, 65% carbohydrates (including 7% dietary fiber), 14% protein, and 7% fat (table). A reference serving of uncooked amaranth grain provides of food energy, and is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, dietary fiber, pantothenic acid, vitamin B6, folate, and several dietary minerals (table). Uncooked amaranth is particularly rich in manganese (159% DV), phosphorus (80% DV), magnesium (70% DV), iron (59% DV), and selenium (34% DV). Cooking decreases its nutritional value substantially across all nutrients, with only dietary minerals remaining at moderate levels. Cooked amaranth leaves are a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and manganese, with moderate levels of folate, iron, magnesium, and potassium. Amaranth does not contain gluten.


title: Amaranth

text: The native range of the genus is cosmopolitan. In pre-Hispanic times, amaranth was cultivated by the Aztec and their tributary communities in a quantity very similar to maize. Known to the Aztecs as , amaranth is thought to have represented up to 80% of their energy consumption before the Spanish conquest. Another important use of amaranth throughout Mesoamerica was in ritual drinks and foods. To this day, amaranth grains are toasted much like popcorn and mixed with honey, molasses, or chocolate to make a treat called , meaning "joy" in Spanish.


title: Amaranth

text: While all species are believed to be native to the New World, several have been cultivated and introduced to warm regions worldwide. Amaranth's cosmopolitan distribution makes it one of many plants providing evidence of pre-Columbian oceanic contact. The earliest archeological evidence for amaranth in the Old World was found in an excavation in Narhan, India, dated to 1000–800 BCE.


title: Amaranth

text: Because of its importance as a symbol of indigenous culture, its palatability, ease of cooking, and a protein that is particularly well-suited to human nutritional needs, interest in amaranth seeds (especially "A. cruentus" and "A. hypochondriacus") revived in the 1970s. It was recovered in Mexico from wild varieties and is now commercially cultivated. It is a popular snack in Mexico, sometimes mixed with chocolate or puffed rice, and its use has spread to Europe and other parts of North America.


title: Amaranth

text: Several species are raised for amaranth "grain" in Asia and the Americas. Amaranth and its relative quinoa are considered pseudocereals because of their similarities to cereals in flavor and cooking. The spread of "Amaranthus" is of a joint effort of human expansion, adaptation, and fertilization strategies. Grain amaranth has been used for food by humans in several ways. The grain can be ground into a flour for use like other grain flours. It can be popped like popcorn, or flaked like oatmeal.


title: Amaranth

text: Seeds of Amaranth grain have been found in Antofagasta de la Sierra Department, Catamarca, Argentina in the southern Puna desert of the north of Argentina dating from 4,500 years ago, with evidence suggesting earlier use. Archeological evidence of seeds from "A. hypochondriacus" and "A. crutenus" found in a cave in Tehuacán, Mexico, suggests amaranth was part of Aztec civilization in the 1400s.


title: Amaranth

text: Ancient amaranth grains still used include the three species "Amaranthus caudatus", "A. cruentus", and "A. hypochondriacus". Evidence from single-nucleotide polymorphisms and chromosome structure supports "A. hypochondriacus" as the common ancestor of the three grain species.


title: Amaranth

text: It has been proposed as an inexpensive native crop that could be cultivated by indigenous people in rural areas for several reasons:


title: Amaranth

text: In the United States, the amaranth crop is mostly used for seed production. Most amaranth in American food products starts as a ground flour, blended with wheat or other flours to create cereals, crackers, cookies, bread or other baked products. Despite utilization studies showing that amaranth can be blended with other flours at levels above 50% without affecting functional properties or taste, most commercial products use amaranth only as a minor portion of their ingredients despite them being marketed as "amaranth" products.


title: Amaranth

text: Amaranth species are cultivated and consumed as a leaf vegetable in many parts of the world. Four species of "Amaranthus" are documented as cultivated vegetables in eastern Asia: "Amaranthus cruentus", "Amaranthus blitum, Amaranthus dubius", and "Amaranthus tricolor".


title: Amaranth

text: In Indonesia and Malaysia, leaf amaranth is called (although the word has since been loaned to refer to spinach, in a different genus). In the Philippines, the Ilocano word for the plant is ; the Tagalog word for the plant is or .


title: Amaranth

text: In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India, it is called ' and is a popular red leafy vegetable (referred to in the class of vegetable preparations called '). It is called "chua" in Kumaun area of Uttarakhand, where it is a popular red-green vegetable. In Karnataka in India, it is called " ()" . It is used to prepare curries such as "hulee, palya, majjigay-hulee", and so on. In Kerala, it is called "cheera" and is consumed by stir-frying the leaves with spices and red chili peppers to make a dish called "cheera thoran". In Tamil Nadu, it is called ' and is regularly consumed as a favourite dish, where the greens are steamed and mashed with light seasoning of salt, red chili pepper, and cumin. It is called '. In the states of "Andhra Pradesh and Telangana" and other Telugu speaking regions of the country, this leaf is called as ""Thotakura"" and is cooked as a standalone curry, added as a part of mix leafy vegetable curry or added in preparation of a popular "dal" called in (Telugu). In Maharashtra, it is called ' and is available in both red and white colour. In Orissa, it is called ', it is used to prepare "", in which the leaf is fried with chili and onions. In West Bengal, the green variant is called " () and the red variant is called " ().


title: Amaranth

text: In China, the leaves and stems are used as a stir-fry vegetable, or in soups. In Vietnam, it is called and is used to make soup. Two species are popular as edible vegetable in Vietnam: ("Amaranthus tricolor") and or ("Amaranthus viridis").


title: Amaranth

text: A traditional food plant in Africa, amaranth has the potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable land care.


title: Amaranth

text: In Bantu regions of Uganda and western Kenya, it is known as "doodo" or "litoto". It is also known among the Kalenjin as a drought crop ("chepkerta"). In Lingala (spoken in the Congo), it is known as or . In Nigeria, it is a common vegetable and goes with all Nigerian starch dishes. It is known in Yoruba as , a short form of (meaning "make the husband fat"), or (meaning "we have money left over for fish"). In Botswana, it is referred to as "morug" and cooked as a staple green vegetable.


title: Amaranth

text: In Greece, purple amaranth ("Amaranthus Blitum") is a popular dish called , or . It is boiled, then served with olive oil and lemon juice like a salad, sometimes alongside fried fish. Greeks stop harvesting the plant (which also grows wild) when it starts to bloom at the end of August.


title: Amaranth

text: In Brazil, green amaranth was, and to a degree still is, often considered an invasive species as all other species of amaranth (except the generally imported "A. caudatus" cultivar), though some have traditionally appreciated it as a leaf vegetable, under the names of or , which is consumed cooked, generally accompanying the staple food, rice and beans.


title: Amaranth

text: In the Caribbean, the leaves are called "bhaji" in Trinidad and "callaloo" in Jamaica, and are sautéed with onions, garlic, and tomatoes, or sometimes used in a soup called pepperpot soup.


title: Amaranth

text: Making up about 5% of the total fatty acids of amaranth, squalene is extracted as a vegetable-based alternative to the more expensive shark oil for use in dietary supplements and cosmetics.


title: Amaranth

text: The flowers of the 'Hopi Red Dye' amaranth were used by the Hopi (a tribe in the western United States) as the source of a deep red dye. Also a synthetic dye was named "amaranth" for its similarity in color to the natural amaranth pigments known as betalains. This synthetic dye is also known as Red No. 2 in North America and E123 in the European Union.


title: Amaranth

text: The genus also contains several well-known ornamental plants, such as "Amaranthus caudatus" (love-lies-bleeding), a vigorous, hardy annual with dark purplish flowers crowded in handsome drooping spikes. Another Indian annual, "A. hypochondriacus" (prince's feather), has deeply veined, lance-shaped leaves, purple on the under face, and deep crimson flowers densely packed on erect spikes.


title: Amaranth

text: Amaranths are recorded as food plants for some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species including the nutmeg moth and various case-bearer moths of the genus "Coleophora": "C. amaranthella", "C. enchorda" (feeds exclusively on "Amaranthus"), "C. immortalis" (feeds exclusively on "Amaranthus"), "C. lineapulvella", and "C. versurella" (recorded on "A. spinosus").


title: Amaranth

text: Diego Durán described the festivities for the Aztec god . The Aztec month of (7 December to 26 December) was dedicated to . People decorated their homes and trees with paper flags; ritual races, processions, dances, songs, prayers, and finally human sacrifices were held. This was one of the more important Aztec festivals, and the people prepared for the whole month. They fasted or ate very little; a statue of the god was made out of amaranth seeds and honey, and at the end of the month, it was cut into small pieces so everybody could eat a piece of the god. After the Spanish conquest, cultivation of amaranth was outlawed, while some of the festivities were subsumed into the Christmas celebration.


title: Amaranth

text: Amaranth is associated with longevity and, poetically, with death and immortality. Amaranth garlands were used in the mourning of Achilles.


title: Amaranth

text: John Milton's "Paradise Lost" portrays a showy amaranth in the Garden of Eden, "remov'd from Heav'n" when it blossoms because the flowers "shade the fountain of life". He describes amaranth as "immortal" in reference to the flowers that generally do not wither and retain bright reddish tones of color, even when deceased; referred to in one species as "love-lies-bleeding."


title: Zach Gilford

text: Zachary Michael Gilford (born January 14, 1982) is an American actor, known for his role as Matt Saracen on the NBC sports drama series "Friday Night Lights". In 2021, he starred in the Netflix horror limited series "Midnight Mass". In 2022, he appeared in the horror mystery-thriller series "The Midnight Club".


title: Zach Gilford

text: Gilford was born in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Anne and Steve Gilford. His mother is Lutheran, and his father is Jewish. He graduated from Evanston Township High School and Northwestern University. He worked as a trip leader for Adventures Cross-Country and has led wilderness and adventure trips for teenagers to Alaska, British Columbia, California, Hawaii, and the South Pacific. Gilford also worked as a staff member for YMCA Camp Echo in Fremont, Michigan.


title: Zach Gilford

text: In 2005, he appeared in an episode of "". In 2006, Gilford landed a regular role in "Friday Night Lights", in which he played the role of Matt Saracen in the main cast, from Season 1 to Season 3. In 2009, Gilford was switched to the recurring cast in Seasons 4 and 5. That year, he also made his feature film debut, co-starring in "The Last Winter" (2006). He had a cameo in the film "" and guest starred in an episode of "Grey's Anatomy".


title: Zach Gilford

text: In 2009, he co-starred as Adam Davies in the romantic comedy "Post Grad" opposite Alexis Bledel. He also starred as Johnny Drake in the romantic drama "Dare" opposite Emmy Rossum. In 2010, he starred as Gus in the indie drama film "The River Why" alongside Amber Heard. He had a cameo in the movie "Super".


title: Zach Gilford

text: In 2010, he joined the cast of ABC's medical drama "Off The Map" which premiered in January 2011 but was cancelled after 13 episodes. In 2011, he appeared in Taylor Swift's music video for "Ours", in which he played her love interest. He played the role of Evan in the drama film "Answers to Nothing". In 2012, he starred as Seth in the indie drama film "In Our Nature" alongside Jena Malone.


title: Zach Gilford

text: In 2012, he was cast in another medical drama, "The Mob Doctor", on Fox, opposite Jordana Spiro; however this was also cancelled after 13 episodes. In January 2013, he appeared with Arnold Schwarzenegger in "The Last Stand". He played the role of Matthew Iris in the film "Crazy Kind of Love".


title: Zach Gilford

text: He co-starred alongside Allison Miller in the horror film "Devil's Due" (2014), set in New Orleans and the Dominican Republic, and released on January 17, 2014. He also co-starred in the film sequel "", released on July 18, 2014. He guest starred in shows such as "Drunk History", "Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories" and "Kingdom". In 2016, he starred as Danny Warren in the ABC drama series "The Family". In 2017, Gilford starred as Conner Hooks in the YouTube Red futuristic web series "Lifeline".


title: Zach Gilford

text: Since 2018, Gilford has had a recurring role as Gregg in the NBC series "Good Girls". In 2019, Gilford was cast as Ben Walker in the "Bad Boys" spinoff drama "L.A.'s Finest." Zach also held a leading role in "Midnight Mass" released in 2021. In 2022, Gilford was cast in a recurring role as Elias Voit, the series recurring unsub in "Criminal Minds: Evolution". His real life spouse Kiele Sanchez joins the series as his wife Bridget Voit.


title: Zach Gilford

text: In the spring of 2010, Gilford began dating actress Kiele Sanchez, whom he met on the set of the television pilot for "The Matadors". The couple became engaged in November 2011, and married on December 29, 2012. The couple also co-starred in "". In August 2015, Sanchez announced that she and Gilford were expecting a son in November. In October 2015, they announced that Sanchez had suffered a late-term miscarriage. The couple have one daughter, born in November 2017 through surrogacy.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Keilor Antonio Navas Gamboa (born 15 December 1986), known as Keylor Navas, is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Costa Rica national team. He was named CONCACAF Men's Goalkeeper of the Year for three consecutive years between 2016 and 2018. He was also named the best male CONCACAF Player of the Decade 2011–2020 by the IFFHS. His performances in the 2017–18 season earned him the 2017–18 UEFA Club Football Award for best UEFA goalkeeper, and also saw him named in the UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season of 2018.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Navas started his youth career at Saprissa in his home country, where he won six Liga FPD titles and the CONCACAF Champions League, he subsequently moved to Spanish club Albacete in 2010, and then to Levante in La Liga the following year, where he won the LFP Award for Best Goalkeeper in his final season with the latter club. Navas later joined Real Madrid in 2014 for €10 million. He won a total of twelve titles with Real Madrid, including one La Liga title and three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles as the first choice goalkeeper. In 2019, he was signed by French club Paris Saint-Germain.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Navas has made over 100 appearances for Costa Rica since making his debut in 2008. He has represented the country at two CONCACAF Gold Cups and the 2014, 2018, and 2022 editions of the FIFA World Cup. He was a member of the Costa Rica national team that reached the semi-finals of the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup, in which he was named best goalkeeper. His impressive performances also helped the team reach the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Born in San Isidro de El General, Navas made his professional debut with Deportivo Saprissa on 6 November 2005, in a Primera league match against Asociación Deportiva Carmelita. He was the first-choice keeper in his two final seasons with the club, winning six national championships and the 2005 CONCACAF Champions' Cup. Navas was also part of the Saprissa team that finished in 3rd place at the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship.


title: Keylor Navas

text: In July 2010, Navas signed with Albacete Balompié of the Segunda División in Spain exactly 20 years after countryman Luis Conejo, who occupied the same position. He played in 36 games out of 42 during his first season, but his team suffered relegation after finishing in last position.


title: Keylor Navas

text: In the 2011–12 campaign, Navas reached La Liga, being loaned to Levante UD for a year. He made his debut in the competition on 13 May 2012 in the last round, playing in a 3–0 home win against Athletic Bilbao that confirmed the club's first ever qualification for the UEFA Europa League, and joined the Valencian club on a three-year contract in July of that year. Despite initially being back-up to Gustavo Munúa, Navas was the first-choice goalkeeper for Levante in the 2013–14 season, and was nominated as the league's best goalkeeper alongside Thibaut Courtois of Atlético Madrid and Willy Caballero of Málaga CF, going on to win the prize. In March 2014, he was La Liga Player of the Month, the first goalkeeper to win the accolade. He finished the season as the goalkeeper with the most saves (267) in La Liga, finishing fourth in the Zamora Trophy conceding 39 goals in 36 games despite playing for a 'lower ranked' team.


title: Keylor Navas

text: On 3 August 2014, Real Madrid triggered Navas' €10 million buyout clause, and he signed a six-year contract with the club. His first competitive call-up was on 12 August, sitting on the bench as Iker Casillas played in the 2014 UEFA Super Cup, which Real Madrid won 2–0 against Sevilla at the Cardiff City Stadium. Navas was given his debut for the club on 23 September, in a 5–1 victory over Elche at the Santiago Bernabéu. He was given his Champions League debut on 26 November, keeping a clean sheet in a 0–1 away win against Swiss side FC Basel. On 20 December, he was on the bench as his team won the Club World Cup, defeating Club Atlético San Lorenzo in the final in Morocco. His performances for Levante in the previous La Liga season and Costa Rica in the 2014 World Cup led him win Player of the Year at the 2014 CONCACAF Awards, earning the dual distinction of the first Costa Rican and goalkeeper to do so.


title: Keylor Navas

text: With the departure of Casillas from Real Madrid, Navas inherited his number 1 shirt for the 2015–16 La Liga season. Madrid agreed to transfer Navas to Manchester United in part-exchange for David de Gea on 31 August 2015, but the deal collapsed because the documents were not submitted to FIFA before the Spanish transfer deadline.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Madrid thrashed Real Betis in their home opener by a score of 5–0 with a fine performance from Navas making several saves as well as stopping a penalty. He was a regular starter when the team won the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League. Navas earned the dual distinction of becoming the first Costa Rican and Central American to ever play in, and win, the men's Champions League final. He set a new record for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League by not conceding a single goal in his first 8 appearances; 6 of these were in the 2015–16 season. He also usurped Edwin van der Sar to reach the second spot in clean sheets behind Jens Lehmann in the all-time list. He was the most consistent keeper in the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League season conceding only 3 goals in 12 appearances, keeping 9 clean sheets.


title: Keylor Navas

text: He was the starting goalkeeper when Madrid won the 2016–17 La Liga and the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League. On 29 January 2017 after the 3–0 win at home to Real Sociedad in La Liga, Navas became the first player from Costa Rica to reach 100 La Liga appearances. His performances during the double trophy winning season led him to win the Player of the Year for the second time at the 2017 CONCACAF Awards.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Navas made his 100th appearance for Madrid during the 2–0 second leg home win over Barcelona. During the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League, he started eleven games, as Madrid won their third consecutive and 13th overall Champions League title beating Liverpool 3–1 in the final. The win against Liverpool saw Navas claim his 100th victory for Madrid in only 141 appearances. Navas produced some fine performances in the Champions League including a superb display against Bayern Munich in their semi-final second leg clash which helped Real Madrid qualify to the final. He made 8 saves during the game, his highest tally in a Champions League knock-out game. Bayern Munich manager Jupp Heynckes praised Navas after the game as the reason for Real Madrid's qualification.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Navas’ fifth season at Real Madrid began with the much-anticipated arrival of Thibaut Courtois to compete for the number 1 goalkeeping spot. Despite Courtois’ arrival, Navas was selected to play in the 2018 UEFA Super Cup which resulted in a 2–4 loss to city rivals Atlético Madrid. Navas then went on to start the opening game of La Liga, comfortably keeping his first clean sheet of the season with a 2–0 win over Getafe CF. His performances in the last Champions League campaign led him to be voted as the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season beating off competition from then Roma goalkeeper Alisson Becker and Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. On 9 January 2019 Navas made his 150th appearance in all competitions for Madrid in their 3–0 home win against Leganés in the Copa del Rey. On 6 April 2019 Navas became the first ever non-Spanish goalkeeper to reach 100 La Liga appearances for Real Madrid.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Navas joined Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a four-year contract on 2 September 2019, becoming the first Costa Rican to play for the men's team. He made his Ligue 1 debut 12 days later, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 home win against Strasbourg. On 24 July 2020, Navas won his 20th career club trophy after beating Saint-Étienne in the Coupe de France final. On 31 July, he kept a clean sheet and saved a spot kick in the resulting shoot-out as PSG defeated Lyon 6–5 on penalties in the 2020 Coupe de la Ligue Final. That win marked Navas' 15th trophy in Europe, matching Rafael Márquez's record for a CONCACAF player. On 23 August 2020, Navas started his 4th Champions League final, losing to Bayern Munich 1–0. He finished the European campaign with 5 clean sheets, the second most after Manuel Neuer despite having played 191 minutes less.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Navas started his second season with PSG as one of the 7 club players to test positive for COVID-19. He missed the clubs first two games due to the quarantine requirement. On 16 September 2020, Navas played his first game of the season winning and keeping a clean sheet against Metz. On 17 September, UEFA announced Navas, for the second time, as a nominee for the 2019–20 Champions League Goalkeeper of the Season award. On 20 September, Navas starred in PSG's 3–0 away win to Nice with a second consecutive clean sheet as well as several excellent saves. On 13 January 2021, Navas won the 2020 Trophée des Champions. With that win, he became the player with the most European trophies, 16, surpassing former Rafael Márquez. On 20 April 2021, Navas was voted Ligue 1 Player of the Month for March, making him the first CONCACAF player to win the award. Navas signed a contract with PSG until 2024 on 26 April 2021.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Ahead of the 2021–22 season, PSG signed Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. This raised eyebrows over potential competition between Navas and his Italian counterpart. In the 2022–23 season, new coach Christophe Galtier confirmed that Navas would occupy the position of number two goalkeeper.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Navas was part of the Costa Rica national team that played in the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Finland. He was called up for the senior national team for the first time in August 2006, to play a friendly tournament in Europe against Austria and Switzerland. He was a member of the team that won a bronze medal at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games. Navas gained his debut senior cap on 11 October 2008, in a 4–1 away victory over Suriname in the third round of qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which qualified the team into the next stage. Four days later at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, he kept his first international clean sheet in a 2–0 victory over Haiti. The team eventually reached the intercontinental play-offs for the tournament, losing narrowly to Uruguay. Navas was also a member of the Costa Rica squad that finished runners-up in the 2009 UNCAF Nations Cup.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Navas appeared with "Los Ticos" in two CONCACAF Gold Cup competitions, being named the best goalkeeper in the 2009 edition as he helped his country reach the semi-finals. He returned to help them to the quarter-finals two years later, in what is to date his last appearance at a Gold Cup, as he would miss the tournament for the following ten years, a period that encompasses five editions. He also missed the Copa América Centenario in similar fashion.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Navas made his debut in the FIFA World Cup on 14 June 2014, appearing in a 3–1 group stage win against Uruguay in Fortaleza, and started the other two group games only conceding a single goal as Costa Rica qualified for the knockout stages as group winners for the first time.


title: Keylor Navas

text: On 29 June, in the round of 16 match against Greece, Navas was named man of the match after several saves in normal time and a save from Theofanis Gekas' kick during the penalty shootout, which led to Costa Rica reaching the quarter-finals for the first time ever. He ended the tournament with three clean sheets from five matches, as the country was knocked out by the Netherlands after a penalty shootout, where he was named man of the match for the third time, the only goalkeeper to do so. He was also one of three nominees for the Golden Glove Award, losing out to Manuel Neuer of Germany.


title: Keylor Navas

text: In May 2018, Navas was named in the final squad for the 2018 World Cup. He started all three group games, making 10 saves and conceding five goals.


title: Keylor Navas

text: In November 2022, Navas was named in the final squad for the 2022 World Cup In Costa Rica's first game against Spain, Navas conceded seven goals. In the second game of group play against Japan, Navas shut-out the Japanese offense giving Costa Rica a surprise win over Japan.


title: Keylor Navas

text: Often rated by several pundits as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and considered by some in the sport as the best in the history of CONCACAF, Navas is an energetic keeper, who is primarily known for his agility, speed, and athleticism in goal, as well as his quick reflexes and excellent shot-stopping ability, which enables him to compensate for his relative lack of height. He has also drawn praise in the media for his decisive performances in important matches, and his penchant for producing difficult and crucial saves for his team in key moments. In 2017, former goalkeeper Manuel Almunia praised Navas, describing him as "the prototype model" goalkeeper, also adding: "He's spectacular between the posts, he's brave, skillful and very agile. He maintains his concentration and he's also intelligent... For me he deserves all the respect he gets for what he's done."


title: Keylor Navas

text: Keylor Navas was raised in a poor family in San Isidro de El General, a town in the southeast of San José province. He is a devout Christian. He spoke about his faith saying, "God for me comes first. Before every game I kneel, I open my arms and pray ... My favourite passage of the Bible is Galatians 1:10 which says: "If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." On 3 December 2014, Navas announced that he had obtained Spanish citizenship.


title: Keylor Navas

text: A documentary film, "Hombre de Fe" (Man of Faith), based on the life of Navas was released on 28 December 2017.


title: Keylor Navas

text: In 2022, Navas obtained his academic degree as a master in Sport Management from Johan Cruyff Institute.


title: Kuril Islands

text: The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; ; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. It stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the north Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many minor rocks. The Kuril Islands consist of the Greater Kuril Chain and the Lesser Kuril Chain. They cover an area of around , with a population of roughly 20,000.


title: Kuril Islands

text: The islands have been under Russian administration since their 1945 invasion as the Soviet Union towards the end of World War II. Japan claims the four southernmost islands, including two of the three largest (Iturup and Kunashir), as part of its territory, as well as Shikotan and the Habomai islets, which has led to the ongoing Kuril Islands dispute. The disputed islands are known in Japan as the country's "Northern Territories".


title: Kuril Islands

text: The name "Kuril" originates from the autonym of the aboriginal Ainu, the islands' original inhabitants: "kur", meaning 'man'. It may also be related to names for other islands that have traditionally been inhabited by the Ainu people, such as "Kuyi" or "Kuye" for Sakhalin and "Kai" for Hokkaidō. In Japanese, the Kuril Islands are known as the Chishima Islands (Kanji: , literally, 'Thousand Islands Archipelago'), also known as the Kuriru Islands (Katakana: , literally, "Kuril Archipelago"). Once the Russians reached the islands in the 18th century they found a pseudo-etymology from Russian "kurit′", курить 'to smoke' due to the continual fumes and steam above the islands from volcanoes.


title: Kuril Islands

text: The Kuril Islands form part of the ring of tectonic instability encircling the Pacific Ocean referred to as the Ring of Fire. The islands themselves are summits of stratovolcanoes that are a direct result of the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Okhotsk Plate, which forms the Kuril Trench some east of the islands. The chain has around 100 volcanoes, some 40 of which are active, and many hot springs and fumaroles. There is frequent seismic activity, including a magnitude 8.5 earthquake in 1963 and one of magnitude 8.3 recorded on November 15, 2006, which resulted in tsunami waves up to reaching the California coast. Raikoke Island, near the centre of the archipelago, has an active volcano which erupted again in June 2019, with emissions reaching .


title: Kuril Islands

text: The climate on the islands is generally severe, with long, cold, stormy winters and short and notoriously foggy summers. The average annual precipitation is , a large portion of which falls as snow. The Köppen climate classification of most of the Kurils is subarctic ("Dfc"), although Kunashir is humid continental ("Dfb"). However, the Kuril Islands’ climate resembles the subpolar oceanic climate of southwest Alaska much more than the hypercontinental climate of Manchuria and interior Siberia, as precipitation is heavy and permafrost completely absent. It is characterized by mild summers with only 1 to 3 months above and cold, snowy, extremely windy winters below , although usually above .


title: Kuril Islands

text: The chain ranges from temperate to sub-Arctic climate types, and the vegetative cover consequently ranges from tundra in the north to dense spruce and larch forests on the larger southern islands. The highest elevations on the islands are Alaid volcano (highest point: ) on Atlasov Island at the northern end of the chain and Tyatya volcano () on Kunashir Island at the southern end.


title: Kuril Islands

text: Landscape types and habitats on the islands include many kinds of beach and rocky shores, cliffs, wide rivers and fast gravelly streams, forests, grasslands, alpine tundra, crater lakes and peat bogs. The soils are generally productive, owing to the periodic influxes of volcanic ash and, in certain places, owing to significant enrichment by seabird guano. However, many of the steep, unconsolidated slopes are susceptible to landslides and newer volcanic activity can entirely denude a landscape. Only the southernmost island has large areas covered by trees, while more northerly islands have no trees, or spotty tree cover.


title: Kuril Islands

text: The northernmost, Atlasov Island (Oyakoba in Japanese), is an almost-perfect volcanic cone rising sheer out of the sea; it has been praised by the Japanese in haiku, wood-block prints, and other forms, in much the same way as the better-known Mount Fuji. Its summit is the highest point in Sakhalin Oblast.


title: Kuril Islands

text: Owing to their location along the Pacific shelf edge and the confluence of Okhotsk Sea gyre and the southward Oyashio Current, the Kuril islands are surrounded by waters that are among the most productive in the North Pacific, supporting a wide range and high abundance of marine life.


title: Kuril Islands

text: Invertebrates: Extensive kelp beds surrounding almost every island provide crucial habitat for sea urchins, various mollusks and countless other invertebrates and their associated predators. Many species of squid provide a principal component of the diet of many of the smaller marine mammals and birds along the chain.


title: Kuril Islands

text: Fish: Further offshore, walleye pollock, Pacific cod, several species of flatfish are of the greatest commercial importance. During the 1980s, migratory Japanese sardine was one of the most abundant fish in the summer.


title: Kuril Islands

text: Pinniped: The main pinnipeds were a significant object of harvest for the indigenous populations of the Kuril islands, both for food and materials such as skin and bone. The long-term fluctuations in the range and distribution of human settlements along the Kuril island presumably tracked the pinniped ranges. In historical times, fur seals were heavily exploited for their fur in the 19th and early 20th centuries and several of the largest reproductive rookeries, as on Raykoke island, were extirpated. In contrast, commercial harvest of the true seals and Steller sea lions has been relatively insignificant on the Kuril islands proper. Since the 1960s there has been essentially no additional harvest and the pinniped populations in the Kuril islands appear to be fairly healthy and in some cases expanding. The notable exception is the now extinct Japanese sea lion, which was known to occasionally haul out on the Kuril islands.


title: Kuril Islands

text: Sea otters: Sea otters were exploited very heavily for their pelts in the 19th century, as shown by 19th- and 20th-century whaling catch and sighting records.


title: Kuril Islands

text: Seabirds: The Kuril islands are home to many millions of seabirds, including northern fulmars, tufted puffins, murres, kittiwakes, guillemots, auklets, petrels, gulls and cormorants. On many of the smaller islands in summer, where terrestrial predators are absent, virtually every possibly hummock, cliff niche or underneath of boulder is occupied by a nesting bird. Several of the islands, including Kunashir and the Lesser Kuril Chain in the South Kurils, and the northern Kurils from Urup to Paramushir, have been recognised as Important Bird Areas (IBAs) by BirdLife International because they support populations of various threatened bird species, including many waterbirds, seabirds and waders.


title: Kuril Islands

text: The composition of terrestrial species on the Kuril islands is dominated by Asian mainland taxa via migration from Hokkaido and Sakhalin Islands and by Kamchatkan taxa from the North. While highly diverse, there is a relatively low level of endemism on a species level.


title: Kuril Islands

text: The WWF divides the Kuril Islands into two ecoregions. The southern Kurils, along with southwestern Sakhalin, comprise the South Sakhalin-Kurile mixed forests ecoregion. The northern islands are part of the Kamchatka-Kurile meadows and sparse forests, a larger ecoregion that extends onto the Kamchatka Peninsula and Commander Islands.


title: Kuril Islands

text: Because of the generally smaller size and isolation of the central islands, few major terrestrial mammals have colonized these, though red and Arctic foxes were introduced for the sake of the fur trade in the 1880s. The bulk of the terrestrial mammal biomass is taken up by rodents, many introduced in historical times. The largest southernmost and northernmost islands are inhabited by brown bear, foxes, and martens. Leopards once inhabited the islands. Some species of deer are found on the more southerly islands. It is claimed that a wild cat, the Kurilian Bobtail, originates from the Kuril Islands. The bobtail is due to the mutation of a dominant gene. The cat has been domesticated and exported to nearby Russia and bred there, becoming a popular domestic cat.


title: Kuril Islands

text: The Ainu people inhabited the Kuril Islands from early times, although few records predate the 17th century.From the Kamakura period to the Muromachi period, there were Ezo (Ainu) people called Hinomoto from the Pacific coast of Hokkaido to the Kuril region, and Mr. Ando, the Ezo Sateshiku and Ezo Kanrei, was in charge of this ("Suwa Daimyojin Ekotoba"). ). It is said that when turmoil broke out on Ezogashima, he dispatched troops from Tsugaru. Its activities include the Kanto Gomensen, which calls itself the Ando Suigun, and is based in Jusanminato ("Kaisen Shikimoku"), supplying Japanese products to Ezo society and purchasing large quantities of northern products and shipping them nationwide. ("Thirteen Streets").The Matsumae clan, a feudal lord of Japan, became independent from the Ando clan (the family of Goro Ando). The Japanese administration first took nominal control of the islands during the Edo period (1603-1868) in the form of claims by the Matsumae clan. The "Shōhō Era Map of Japan" (), a map of Japan made by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1644, shows 39 large and small islands northeast of Hokkaido's Shiretoko Peninsula and Cape Nosappu. A Dutch expedition under Maarten Gerritsz Vries explored the islands in 1643. Russian popular legend has Fedot Alekseyevich Popov sailing into the area .


title: Kuril Islands

text: American whaleships caught right whales off the islands between 1847 and 1892. Three of the ships were wrecked on the islands: two on Urup in 1855 and one on Makanrushi in 1856. In September 1892, north of Kunashir Island, a Russian schooner seized the bark "Cape Horn Pigeon", of New Bedford and escorted it to Vladivostok, where it was detained for nearly two weeks.


title: Kuril Islands

text: At the very end of the 19th century, the Japanese administration started the forced assimilation of the native Ainu people. Also at this time the Ainu were granted automatic Japanese citizenship, effectively denying them the status of an indigenous group. Many Japanese moved onto former Ainu lands, including the Kuril islands. The Ainu required to adopt Japanese names, and ordered to cease religious practices such as animal sacrifice and the custom of tattooing. Although not compulsory education, education was conducted in Japanese. Prior to Japanese colonization (in 1868) about 100 Ainu reportedly lived on the Kuril islands.


title: Kuril Islands

text: In February 1945 the Yalta Agreement promised to the Soviet Union South Sakhalin and the Kuril islands in return for entering the Pacific War against the Japanese during World War II. In August 1945 the Soviet Union mounted an armed invasion of South Sakhalin at the cost of over 5,000 Soviet and Japanese lives.


title: Kuril Islands

text: Japan maintains a claim to the four southernmost islands of Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan, and the Habomai rocks, together called the "Northern Territories".


title: Kuril Islands

text: In addition, the Japanese government claims that the Kuril Islands other than the Northern Territories and South Karafuto, are undetermined areas under international law because the San Francisco Peace Treaty does not specify where they belong and the Soviet Union has not signed it.


title: Kuril Islands

text: On 8 February 2017 the Russian government gave names to five previously unnamed Kuril islands in Sakhalin Oblast: Derevyanko Island (after Kuzma Derevyanko, ), Gnechko Island (after Alexey Gnechko, ), Gromyko Island (after Andrei Gromyko, ), Farkhutdinov Island (after Igor Farkhutdinov, ) and Shchetinina Island (after Anna Shchetinina, ).


title: Kuril Islands

text: , 19,434 people inhabited the Kuril Islands, of which over 16,700 live on the four disputed islands. These include ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Tatars, Nivkhs, Oroch, and Ainus. Russian Orthodox Christianity is the main religion. Some of the villages are permanently manned by Russian soldiers (especially in Kunashir following recent tensions). Others are inhabited by civilians, which are mostly fishers, workers in fish factories, dockers, and social sphere workers (police, medics, teachers, etc.). Recent construction works on the islands attracts a lot of migrant workers from the rest of Russia and other post-Soviet states. , there were only 8 inhabited islands out of a total of 56. Iturup Island is over 60% ethnically Ukrainian.


title: Kuril Islands

text: Fishing is the primary occupation. The islands have strategic and economic value, in terms of fisheries and also mineral deposits of pyrite, sulfur, and various polymetallic ores. There are hopes that oil exploration will provide an economic boost to the islands.


title: Kuril Islands

text: In 2014, construction workers built a pier and a breakwater in Kitovy Bay, central Iturup, where barges are a major means of transport, sailing between the cove and ships anchored offshore. A new road has been carved through the woods near Kurilsk, the island's biggest village, going to the site of Yuzhno-Kurilsk Mendeleyevo Airport.


title: Kuril Islands

text: Gidrostroy, the Kurils' biggest business group with interests in fishing, construction and real estate, built its second fish processing factory on Iturup island in 2006, introducing a state-of-the-art conveyor system.


title: Kuril Islands

text: To deal with a rise in the demand of electricity, the local government is also upgrading a state-run geothermal power plant at Mount Baransky, an active volcano, where steam and hot water can be found.


title: Kuril Islands

text: The main Russian force stationed on the islands is the 18th Machine Gun Artillery Division, which has its headquarters in Goryachiye Klyuchi on Iturup Island. There are also Border Guard Service troops stationed on the islands. In February 2011, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for substantial reinforcements of the Kuril Islands defences. Subsequently, in 2015, additional anti-aircraft missile systems Tor and Buk, coastal defence missile system Bastion, Kamov Ka-52 combat helicopters and one "Varshavyanka" project submarine came on defence of Kuril Islands. During the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine it was reported that parts of the 18th Machine Gun Artillery Division were redeployed to Eastern Ukraine.


title: Kuril Islands

text: While in Russian sources the islands are mentioned for the first time in 1646, the earliest detailed information about them was provided by the explorer Vladimir Atlasov in 1697. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Kuril Islands were explored by Danila Antsiferov, I. Kozyrevsky, Ivan Yevreinov, Fyodor Luzhin, Martin Shpanberg, Adam Johann von Krusenstern, Vasily Golovnin, and Henry James Snow.


title: Samuthirakani

text: Samuthirakani (born 26 April 1973) is an Indian actor and film director who predominantly works in Tamil films and Telugu films besides appearing in a number of Malayalam films. He worked as an assistant to director K Balachander. He won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2016 for "Visaranai".


title: Samuthirakani

text: Samuthirakani was born on 26 April 1973 in Seithur, Rajapalayam, Tamil Nadu. He did his B.Sc. in Mathematics from the Rajapalayam Rajus College and he also earned a Bachelor of Law from Ambedkar Law College. However, he aimed to become an actor. He has said that people used to tell him that he did not have the physical appearanace or talent necessary to be an actor.


title: Samuthirakani

text: In 1997, he joined as an assistant director under Sundar K. Vijayan. He was then noticed by K. Balachander and was recruited as assistant director for Balachander's 100th film "Paarthale Paravasam". He also assisted Balachander in the mega-serial "Anni" telecasted by Jaya TV. Samuthirakani recalled that the work experience he gained under Balachander helped him in many ways while shooting "Arasi and Selvi", the mega-serial telecasted in Sun TV, which were massive hits among housewives. As an actor he worked as a junior artist, in Jannal serial, telecasted in 1998, directed by K.Balachander.


title: Samuthirakani

text: In the early 2000s, Samuthirakani began his career as a director. He notably launched a shelved film titled "Uyir Nanbanukku" starring Cheran, before making "Unnai Charanadaindhen" (2003) for S. P. B. Charan.


title: Samuthirakani

text: However, it was the success of "Naadodigal" (2009) that established Samuthirakani as a director. Since then he has directed films such as "Poraali" (2011), "Nimirndhu Nil" (2014) and "Appa" (2016). All these films have been remade in Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.