For the first time since Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria 51 years ago, the Druze will vote next Tuesday in Israeli municipal elections. But these elections have sparked outrage from many Druze who view the elections as an attempt by the Jewish state to try to legitimize its control. Such is the discontent that there has been a campaign to boycott the poll and a string of candidates have pulled out.

Israel seized 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognized by the international community. Unlike the majority of the Druze in Israel who are born with Israeli citizenship and already vote in elections, the nearly 23,000 Druze in the Golan Heights remain in a state of limbo. They are "permanent residents" of the Jewish state who are allowed to vote in the election, while only those who got citizenship can run for office. Today only around 20 percent of Golan Druze have taken Israeli citizenship, according to Israel's Population and Immigration Authority.

This vote is taking place after a group of Druze lawyers petitioned Israel's Supreme Court for the right to hold a vote so they can elect a mayor who will improve services for their community. Still, only Israeli citizens can run for mayor, leaving the vast majority of residents unable to run, a situation criticized by many Druze activists.

Tishreen Abu Saleh, a 26-year-old Druze student and activist said that the elections are an attempt to impose the rule of a minority of pro-Israel Druze over the majority, as reported by German news service dpa. She said that an elected mayor will not bring better municipal services to the Druze communities and only serve to solidify Israel's presence over the area. "What we know in 2018 is the repetition of what Israel did in 1981, they are continuing with their strategy to divide the society," said Abu Saleh. The elections have definitely driven a wedge between the candidates and community leaders and activists.