page_title: Majdal Shams
section_title: Israeli occupation
hierarchical_section_title: Majdal Shams / History / Israeli occupation
caption_attribution_description: English: The town of Majdal Shams to the left of the border between Israel and Syria
context_page_description: Majdal Shams is a Druze town in the southern foothills of Mt. Hermon, north of the Golan Heights. The majority of residents are of Syrian-Druze origin. Since the June 1967 Six-Day War, the village has been governed by Israel, first under martial law, but since the adoption of the 1981 Golan Heights Law under Israeli civil law, and incorporated into the Israeli system of local councils.
  Majdal Shams is the largest of the four remaining Druze-Syrian communities on the Israeli-occupied side of Mount Hermon and the Golan Heights, together with Ein Qiniyye, Mas'ade and Buq'ata. Geologically and geographically a distinction is made between the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon, the boundary being marked by the Sa'ar Stream; however, administratively usually they are lumped together. Majdal Shams and Ein Qiniyye are on the Hermon side of the boundary, thus sitting on limestone, while Buq'ata and Mas'ade are on the Golan side, characterised by black volcanic rock.
context_section_description: Since the June 1967 Six-Day War, Majdal Shams has been under Israeli control.
  During the 1967 Six Day War, residents of the nearby towns of Ain Fit, Banias, Jubata ez-Zeit, and Za'ura took shelter in Majdal Shams. After Israeli forces had secured the area, soldiers forced refugees across the ceasefire line into Syrian controlled territory, but permitted residents of Majdal Shams and a few other communities to remain in their homes. As Israel and Syria fortified the ceasefire line, which ran along the eastern edge of Majdal Shams, the community was isolated from the rest of Syria. Many residents were separated from their relatives living or working in Syrian-controlled territory—as many as 50% from at least one sibling, parent, or child.
  Majdal Shams retained close ties to Syria. Residents frequently gathered at the eastern edge of the village with bullhorns to shout messages to friends and relatives on the Syrian side of the ceasefire line. Through the 1970s, and often later, many households refused to pay taxes to the state of Israel. In 1981, when the Israeli Knesset formally extended Israeli law to the Golan Heights and offered Israeli citizenship to residents of Majdal Shams, the community staged a 19-week general strike in protest. Although Israeli troops blockaded the town and attempted to force residents to accept citizen identification cards, the protesters succeeded in convincing the state to classify members of the community as non-citizens. Residents retained the right to apply for Israeli citizenship individually.
  During the 1970s, a few residents of Majdal Shams received permission to cross the ceasefire line into Syrian-controlled territory, either to rejoin relatives or attend university in Damascus. During the 1990s, large numbers of residents began to receive permission to cross the ceasefire line to conduct religious pilgrimages or attend university. A small number of women also applied to cross the ceasefire line and marry Syrian men. This crossing program was the subject of the film The Syrian Bride.
caption: The barrier between the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights and Syrian controlled territory
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