Mas'ade (, ) is a

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

village in the northern

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

, Syria. It covers an area of , and in had a population of . It was given the status of a local council in 1982. Its inhabitants are mostly

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n citizens and have

permanent residency Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such l ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. 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 ‘Arra''f, 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 Majdal Shams (; ) is a predominantly Druze town in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, located in the southern foothills of Mount Hermon. It is known as the informal "capital" of the region. Majdal Shams played a significant role in the Great ...

Ein Qiniyye Ein Qiniyye or 'Ayn Qunya (; ) is a Druze village in the Israeli-occupied southern foothills of Mount Hermon, 750 meters above sea level. It was granted local council status in 1982. Its inhabitants are mostly Syrian citizens with permanent ...

and

Buq'ata Buq'ata (; ) is a Druze town, administered as a Local council (Israel), local council, in the northern section of the Israeli-occupied territories, Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights. Buq'ata covers an area of 7,000 dunams (7 km² ...

. 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 Route 99, which leads west to Kiryat Shmona, and Route 98, which leads north to

Mount Hermon Mount Hermon ( / ALA-LC: ('Mountain of the Sheikh', ), , ) is a mountain, mountain cluster constituting the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the Lebanon–Syria border, border between Syria and Lebanon a ...

and south to the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee/Lake Tiberias).

References

Towns in Quneitra Governorate Local councils in Northern District (Israel) Druze communities in Syria Quneitra District {{QuneitraSY-geo-stub