Katzrin (; also Qatzrin, ) is an Israeli settlement organized as a local council in the Golan Heights. Known as the "capital of the Golan", it is the second-largest locality there after Majdal Shams, and the largest Israeli settlement. In it had a population of . It is the seat of Golan Regional Council. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law, though the Israeli government disputes this. Geography To the south of Katzrin is the Sea of Galilee, to the north Mount Hermon, and to the west are the Upper Galilee hills of Israel. History Bronze Age to Early Islamic period The site was occupied from the Middle Bronze Age, continuing into the Iron Age, the Hellenistic and Roman periods (during the latter it was once destroyed), while the most substantial structural remains date from the Late Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic periods (3rd–4th to mid-8th centuries), when the site was a Jewish village with a synagogue. The ancient Jewish settlement served as an important trading location in the region, but started to decline with the change of trading routes after the Islamic conquest. The village was destroyed in an earthquake in CE 746–749. As a result of the earthquake the location was most probably abandoned by the declining Jewish community. Mamluk period During the Mamluk period (13th–14th centuries), it was a Muslim village and a mosque was built upon the ruins of the synagogue. Ottoman, French and Syrian periods In the 1880s, Kisrin, at the east edge of the modern town, was described as "a small Bedawin winter village, with a group of beautiful oak trees and old ruins". From the late 19th century to 1967, the village was occupied by Bedouin and a settled population. Since 1920 and until the independence of Syria in 1944, the area was under the jurisdiction of the French mandate. The Syrian farm of Fakhoura was just to the north-east and had about 250 inhabitants before its depopulation in 1967. Israeli occupation and annexation The Israeli settlement of Katzrin was established in 1977 as a planned urban center for the Golan based on a decision of the Israeli government in November 1973. Construction began in 1976. In 1981, under the Golan Heights Law, Israel applied Israeli civil law in the Golan Heights (including Katzrin). This law was condemned internationally and by the United Nations security council.