Mas'ade (, ) is a village in southwestern Syria, in the Quneitra Governorate, Golan Heights. It has been under Israeli occupation since 1967 and is administered by Israel as a local council since 1982. The town has a predominantly Druze population.
It covers an area of , and in had a population of . Its inhabitants are mostly Syrian citizens and have permanent residency in Israel. Since the adoption of the 1981 Golan Heights Law, Mas'ade is under Israeli civil law and is incorporated into the Israeli system of local councils.
The presence of Druze around Mount Hermon is documented since the founding of the Druze religion in the beginning of the 11th century.Roy Marom, “Sukayk and al-Summāqah: Mamluk Rural Geography in the Northern Jawlān/Golan Heights in the Light of Qāytbāy’s Endowment Deeds,” in Kate Raphael and Mustafa Abbasi (ed.s), The Golan in the Mamluk and Ottoman Periods: an Archaeological and Historical Study: Excavations at Naʿarān and Farj, In Honour of Moshe Hartal, Yigal Ben Ephraim and Shuqri ‘Arraf, Annual of the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion Volume xiv (2024): 67 Mas'ade is one of the four remaining Druze-Syrian communities on the Israeli-occupied side of the Golan Heights and on Mount Hermon, together with Majdal Shams, Ein Qiniyye and Buq'ata. 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 lumped together. Mas'ade and Buq'ata are on the Golan side of the boundary and are characterized by black volcanic rock (basalt), while Majdal Shams and Ein Qiniyye are on the Hermon side, thus sitting on limestone.
Near Mas'ade are Lake Ram and .
Mas'ade is located at the intersection of Highway 99, which leads west to Kiryat Shmona, and Highway 98, which leads north to Mount Hermon and south to the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee/Lake Tiberias).
Demography
Transportation The Golan Regional Council operates three buses per day from Mas'ade to the Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona. The bus line begins at El Rom, and also stops at Buq'ata, Majdal Shams, and Neve Ativ. The bus ride to Kiryat Shmona takes approximately 29 minutes. Mas'ade is located along Highway 98, a major road running through the Golan Heights.
See also Druze in Syria
References