Majdal Shams Mourning: Rocket Attack Sparks Outcry and Tensions

A report by Amale Chehadeh, English adaptation by Nadine Sassine

Amid the funeral ceremonies for twelve children and youths killed in the targeted attack on the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, and among thousands of participants, contradictory emotions prevailed among the Golan residents regarding the outcomes of what was considered the largest security incident in the north since the beginning of the war.

A few called for a harsh response against Lebanon and the targeting of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. However, the majority blamed Netanyahu's government for the deaths of their children, citing its stubborn policy of continuing the war and treating this occupied area as a second-class region. This group criticized the blatant discrimination between them and the Golan settlers, leaving them without the minimum guarantee of their security and without shelters.

Government ministers rushed to attend the funerals, but most were expelled by Golan youths, led by Bezalel Smotrich, who left quickly after being labeled a killer and a thug dancing on the blood of their children, as one young man shouted.

During the peak of the funeral ceremonies, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from Washington and immediately held a reduced consultation session with the Defense Minister, the Chief of Staff, and security leaders. This was followed by a session of the security cabinet, which witnessed heated discussions between representatives like Smotrich and Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who called for an immediate war reaching Beirut and targeting Lebanon's infrastructure, and those who called for an exceptional and unprecedented response that would not deteriorate into a full-scale war.

Meanwhile, the army found it difficult to propose a middle-ground solution to respond to the incident during a meeting of the Northern Command, attended by Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, where multiple plans were discussed along with the army's preparedness for war in Lebanon, awaiting political approval.
The Golan operation heightened the tension on the northern front. Security and political officials emphasized the importance of ending the war in Gaza and returning the prisoners, warning against the continuation of the government's policy towards the northern front without a decisive resolution.

The occupied Syrian Golan paid the heavy price on the northern front, while reports discussed in the security cabinet confirmed that Israel is not prepared to enter a wide-scale war with Lebanon, and it would be better not to embark on such a war due to the difficulty of predicting its repercussions, not only in terms of its potential regional expansion but also regarding the internal readiness for such a conflict.