Buq'ata
بقعاثا בוקעאתא | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Buq'ata town | |
  Buq'ata The Golan on the map of Syria; Buq'ata on the map of the Golan.  Buq'ata Buq'ata (Syria)  Buq'ata Buq'ata (the Golan Heights) | |
| Coordinates: 33°12′N 35°47′E / 33.200°N 35.783°E | |
| Country | Golan Heights, internationally recognised as Syrian territory occupied by Israel. See Status of the Golan Heights. |
| Israeli District | Northern District |
| Israeli Subdistrict | Golan |
| Syrian Governorate | Quneitra Governorate |
| Syrian District | Quneitra District |
| Syrian Subdistrict | Mas'ade Subdistrict |
| Population (2022)[1] | 6,805 |
Buq'ata (Arabic: بقعاثا Buqʿāthā; Hebrew: בוקעאתא) is a Druze town, administered as a local council, in the northern section of the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights. Buq'ata covers an area of 7,000 dunams (7 km²) between two mountains in the Golan Heights, Mount Hermonit and Mount Varda. Located 1,070 metres above sea level, it had a population of 6,805 in 2022.
Granted the right to obtain Israeli citizenship following the passage of the Golan Heights Law,[2] as of 2012 most of the residents, like the majority of Druze in the Golan Heights, adopted permanent residency but refused Israeli citizenship and instead retain Syrian citizenship.[3]
Buq'ata is one of the four remaining Syrian-Druze communities on the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights, the others being Majdal Shams, Ein Qiniyye and Mas'ade. 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 they are usually grouped together. Buq'ata and Mas'ade are on the Golan side of the boundary, characterised by black volcanic rock (basalt), while Majdal Shams and Ein Qiniyye are on the Hermon side, thus sitting on limestone.
- ^ "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Aly, Abdel Monem Said; Feldman, Shai; Shikaki, Khalil (2013). Arabs and Israelis: Conflict and Peacemaking in the Middle East. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-137-29084-7.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Kerchner, Isabel. Echoes of Syria’s War in the Golan Heights New York Times. August 7, 2012