Golan Heights

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Golan Heights هضبة الجولان רמת הגולן
CIA map highlighting the Israeli-controlled part of the Golan Heights. Sites on the Golan in black are Druze villages; sites in blue are Israeli settlements.
Status	Internationally recognized as Syrian territory occupied by Israel. Administered by Israel, claimed by Syria
Area
- Total	1,800 km2 (695 sq mi)
- Currently controlled by Israel	1,200 km2 (463.3 sq mi)
Highest elevation	2,814 m (9,232 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2005)
- Total	38,900 (in the Israeli controlled part) 79,000 (in the Syrian controlled part)

The Golan Heights (Arabic: هضبة الجولان‎, Haḍbatu 'l-Jawlān or مرتفعات الجولان, Murtafaʕātu 'l-Jawlān, Hebrew: רמת הגולן‎ (audio) (help·info) Ramat HaGolan) is a strategic plateau and mountainous region at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and remains a highly contested land straddling the borders of Syria and Israel. Two-thirds of the area is currently governed by Israel. The United Nations,^[1] the United States,^[2] the European Union,^[3] the United Kingdom,^[4] the Arab League,^[5] the International Committee of the Red Cross,^[6] Amnesty International,^[7] and Human Rights Watch^[8] consider the Golan Heights to be territory occupied by Israel and not part of Israel proper. Israel has controlled most of the Golan since the Six Day War in 1967. In 1981, Israel passed the Golan Heights Law, which extended Israeli law and administration throughout the Israeli controlled territory,^[9] a move which was condemned by the United Nations Security Council in its motion 497^[10] The overwhelming majority of the international community supported the Security Council in this and have continued to do so. For example, in 2008 a plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly voted by 161-1 in favour of a motion on the "occupied Syrian Golan" that reaffirmed support for Security Council motion 497.^[11][12]

The name "Golan" refers to both Biblical and historical names for the southern portion of the area. (See Etymology, below). The term Golan Heights actually has two separate meanings, one geographic and one political:

• The geographic term refers to the Golan plateau, which encompasses about 1,800 square kilometres (690 sq mi), is situated south of the mountains and extends to the east, and lies within, or borders, the countries of Syria, Israel, Lebanon and Jordan.
• The political term, which has become the dominant usage since 1967, refers to an area of disputed sovereignty, currently controlled by Israel, which is somewhat coterminous with the Golan plateau itself. This 1,200 square kilometres (460 sq mi) area includes the western portion of the plateau, a small portion of the Jordan River Valley in the northwest, and higher, mountainous areas in the north, which descend to the southeast from Mount Hermon.

The Golan Heights are of great strategic importance in the region,^[13][14] and were governed with the rest of Syria under successive historical regimes^[15] until the Six-Day War, when they were captured by Israel on 9-10 June 1967. Israeli sources and the U.S. Committee for Refugees reported that much of the local population fled as a result of the war, whereas the Syrian government indicated that a large proportion of it was expelled.^[16] Israel asserts its right to retain the area under the text of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242,^[17] which passed November 22, 1967 and called for "secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force" for every state, as well as the "withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied in the Six Day War." The area has remained under Israeli control since 1967, first under martial law, and from 1981 under civilian administration^[18] Israel successfully defended its control of the territory in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, though a portion was later returned to Syria. Starting in the 1970s, new Jewish settlements were established in the captured area.^[19] In 1981, Israel applied its "laws, jurisdiction and administration" to the region with the passage of the Golan Heights Law, a move internationally condemned^[20] and unrecognized,^[19] and labeled "inadmissible" by the UN Security Council.^[21] Since then it has been governed as part of Israel’s North District, while Syria maintains that the Golan Heights are within its Quneitra Governorate. UN Resolution 242 considers the area part of the Israeli-occupied territories. Syria has never stopped demanding that the land be returned, and in 2006, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Israel to end its occupation of the Golan, while declaring all the legislative and administrative measures taken by Israel in the Golan null and void.^[22]

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Geography 3 Current status 3.1 Syrian-controlled portion 3.2 The Druze 3.2.1 Allon Plan for a Druze state in the Golan/Quneitra 3.3 The Golan Heights Law 3.4 Three lines: 1923 border, 1949 armistice, and line of June 4, 1967 3.5 Shebaa Farms issue 3.6 Maintenance of the ceasefire 3.7 Negotiations 4 History 4.1 Ancient history 4.2 Between World War I and the Six-Day War 4.3 History since the Six-Day War 5 Towns, villages and settlements 5.1 Israeli 5.2 Syrian 5.2.1 Quneitra 5.2.2 Other 6 Sites 6.1 Katzrin 6.2 Gamla Nature Reserve 6.3 Gilgal Refaim 6.4 Um el Kanatir 6.5 Nimrod Fortress 6.6 Mount Hermon 6.7 Hamat Gader 6.8 Hippos 7 Gallery 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Etymology

"Golan" is of Semitic origin and refers to the name of a city mentioned in the Bible as one of the "Cities of Refuge,” east of the Jordan River. Other names used in this context are Gaulan and Jaulan. Prior to 1967, the term "Ha-Golan" (in Hebrew) or "Golan Heights" (elsewhere) was a geographic designation referring to the Golan plateau (see introduction). In Christian usage, the term has also come to denote a region stretching from that Biblical site westward towards the Sea of Galilee. The terms Gaulanitis or Gaulonitis have been used in this context. Since 1967, "Golan" and "Golan Heights" have also taken on a political meaning, referring specifically to the land currently controlled by Israel and whose sovereignty is contested.

[edit] Geography

Topographically, the Golan Heights ranges in elevation from 2,814 m (9,230 feet) on Mount Hermon in the north, to about sea level on the Yarmuk River in the south. The steeper, more rugged topography is generally limited to the northern and western portions, and approximately bounded by the Sa’ar valley to the south. The extreme northwestern area includes the mountainous Shebaa Farms area, which is disputed between Lebanon and Syria, as well as flat land in the Jordan valley, which extends west to the Hasbani River and the town of Ghajar, on the Syrian – Lebanese border. This area includes the only overland route, between Syria and Lebanon, south of the Golan Heights.

The broader Golan plateau exhibits a more subdued topography, generally ranging between 400 and 1,700 feet (120–520 m) in elevation. To the east and at lower elevation, the plateau merges into the Hauran plain of Syria; the limits are not clearly defined, although Wadi Ruqqad and Nahr Allan are sometimes considered geographically. In Israel, the Golan plateau is usually divided into three regions: northern (between the Sa'ar and Jilabun valleys), central (between the Jilabun and Daliyot valleys), and southern (between the Dlayot and Yarmouk valleys). The Golan Heights is bordered on the west by a rock escarpment that drops 1,700 feet (500 m) to the Jordan River valley and the Sea of Galilee. In the south, the incised Yarmouk River valley marks the limits of the plateau and, east of the abandoned railroad bridge upstream of Hamat Gader and Al Hammah, it marks the recognized international border between Syria and Jordan.^[23].

Geologically, the Golan plateau and the Hauran plain to the east constitute a Holocene volcanic field that also extends northeast almost to Damascus. Much of the area is scattered with dormant volcanos, as well as cinder cones, such as Majdal Shams. The plateau also contains a crater lake, called Birkat Ram ("Ram Pool"), which is fed by both surface runoff and underground springs. These volcanic areas are characterized by basalt bedrock and dark soils derived from its weathering. The basalt flows overlie older, distinctly lighter-colored limestones and marls, exposed along the Yarmouk River in the south.

The rock forming the mountainous area in the northern Golan Heights, descending from Mount Hermon, are geologically quite different from the volcanic rocks of the plateau, including a different physiography. The mountains are characterized by distinctly lighter-colored, Jurassic age limestone of sedimentary origin. Locally, the limestone is broken by faults and solution channels to form a karst-like topography in which springs are common (e.g. Baniyas). The Sa'ar valley generally divides the lighter-colored sedimentary rocks of the mountains from the dark-colored volcanic rocks of the Golan plateau. The western border of both the Golan plateau and the mountains is truncated structurally by the Jordan Rift Valley, along which the Jordan River and its northern tributaries flow.

In addition to its strategic importance militarily, noted above, the Golan Heights provides significantly to the water resources of the region. This is true particularly for higher elevations, which are snow-covered much of the year in the cold months and help to sustain baseflow for rivers and springs during the dry season. The heights receive significantly more precipitation than the surrounding, lower-elevation areas. The occupied sector of the Golan Heights provides or controls a substantial portion of the water in the Jordan River watershed, which in turn provides a portion of Israel's water supply. The Golan Heights are the source of about 15% of Israel's water supply.^[24]

List of streams

• Yarmouk River
• Jilabun
• Daliyot
• Yehudia
• Zavitan
• Meitzar
• Samakh
• Orvim
• Hamdal
• El Al
• Nov

[edit] Current status

The Golan Heights were under military administration between 1967 and 1981. In that year, Israel passed the Golan Heights Law,^[9] placing the Golan Heights under civilian Israeli law, administration, and jurisdiction. Most non-Jewish residents of the Golan Heights, mainly Druze, refused to surrender Syrian citizenship, though Israeli citizenship was available to them. Syria continues to offer them benefits such as free university tuition.^[25] Israel's actions were widely condemned with the Security Council of the United Nations passing its resolution 497. The international community has continued to condemn Israel's actions in passing the Golan Heights Law and its conduct in the area. For example, in 2008 a plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly voted by 161-1 in favour of a motion on the Golan Heights that reaffirmed Security Council resolution 497 and called on Israel to desist from "changing the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan and, in particular, to desist from the establishment of settlements [and] from imposing Israeli citizenship and Israeli identity cards on the Syrian citizens in the occupied Syrian Golan and from its repressive measures against the population of the occupied Syrian Golan." Israel was the only opponent of the resolution.^[11]

In the 1999 elections, 773 residents of Ghajar and fewer than 700 residents of the 4 Druze villages were eligible voters, out of approximately 900 Ghajar residents and 10,300 Druze village residents who were of voting age.^[26]

In 2005 the Golan Heights had a population of approximately 38,900, including approximately 19,300 Druze, 16,500 Jews, and 2,100 non-Druze Muslims, mainly Alawites.^{[citation needed]} Israeli settlements, including moshavim and kibbutzim, are consolidated municipally under the Golan Regional Council, and are inhabited by Israeli settlers. The Golan Alawites reside in the internationally recognized Syria-Lebanon border-straddling village of Ghajar. They accepted Israeli citizenship in 1981.^[27] The Druze reside in the villages of Ein Qinya, Buq'ata, Majdal Shams, and Mas'ada. Most are involved in farm work.

Both personal and business relations exist between the Druze and their Jewish neighbors; there is little tension between the two groups.[10] As a humanitarian gesture, since 2005, Israel allows Druze farmers to export some 11,000 tons of apples to Syria each year, the first kind of trade ever made between Syria and Israel. Since 1988, Israel has allowed Druze clerics to make annual religious pilgrimages to Syria.^[28]

[edit] Syrian-controlled portion

East of the 1974 ceasefire line lies the Syrian controlled part of the Golan Heights, an area that was not captured by Israel (500 km²) or withdrawn from (100 km²). This area forms 30% of the Golan Heights^[29] and contains more than 40 Syrian towns and villages.

In 1975, following the 1974 ceasefire agreement, some of the displaced residents began returning to their homes in this part. The Syrian government began helping people rebuild their villages, except for Quneitra. In the mid-1980s the government launched a plan called "The Project for the Reconstruction of the Liberated Villages". By the end of 2007, Syrian statistics estimated the population of the region at 79,000,^[30] consisting of Arabs, Druze and Circassians living mainly in Khan Arnabah, Alhameedia, Alrafeed, Alsamdaneea, Beer ajam, Hadar, Juba, Kodana, Rwaiheena, Nabe’ Alsakher, Trinja, and Umm batna.

[edit] The Druze

Unlike Druze in Israel proper, fewer than 10% of the Druze of the Golan Heights are Israeli citizens; the remainder hold Syrian citizenship. The latter are permanent residents of Israel, and they hold a laissez-passer. The pro-Israeli Druze are ostracized by the pro-Syrian Druze.^[31] Reluctance to accept citizenship also reflects fear of ill treatment or displacement by Syrian authorities should the Golan Heights eventually be returned to Syria .^[32] According to The Independent, most Druze in the Golan Heights live relatively comfortable lives in a freer society than they would have in Syria under the present regime.^[33] According to Egypt's Daily Star, their standard of living vastly surpasses that of their counterparts on the Syrian side of the border. Hence their fear of a return to Syria, though most of them identify themselves as Syrian,^[34] but feel alienated from the autocratic regime in Damascus. According to the Associated Press, "many young Druse have been quietly relieved at the failure of previous Syrian-Israeli peace talks to go forward." Ties to Syria are on the wane, and many have come to appreciate aspects of Israel's liberal democratic society, although few risk saying so publicly for fear of Syrian retribution.^[28] On the other hand, expressing pro-Syrian rhetoric, The Economist found, represents the Golan Druzes' view that by doing so they may be potentially rewarded by Syria, while simultaneously risking nothing in Israel's freewheeling society. The Economist likewise reported that "Some optimists see the future Golan as a sort of Hong Kong, continuing to enjoy the perks of Israel’s dynamic economy and open society, while coming back under the sovereignty of a stricter, less developed Syria." The Druze are also reportedly well-educated and relatively prosperous, and have made use of Israel's universities.^[35]

[edit] Allon Plan for a Druze state in the Golan/Quneitra

In the 1970s, Israeli politician Yigal Allon proposed as part of the so-called Allon Plan that a Druze state (Jabal Druze) be established in Syria's Quneitra Governorate, including the Israeli-held Golan Heights.[11] Allon died in 1980, and the following year the Israeli government passed the Golan Heights Law, effectively annexing most of the Governorate.

[edit] The Golan Heights Law

Israel's Golan Heights Law of 1981 applied Israeli "laws, jurisdiction and administration" to the Golan Heights. It was administered as part of its North District. (Syria asserts that the Heights are part of the governorate of al Qunaytirah). Israel's action has not been recognized internationally.^[19] United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 which declared the Golan Heights an Israeli occupied territory continues to apply. Israel maintains that it may retain the area as the text of Resolution 242 calls for "safe and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force". ^[36]

Israel's measures are frequently termed "annexation" but the word "annexation" is not used in the law itself. When Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin was asked in the Knesset why he was risking international criticism for the annexation, he replied "You use the word annexation, but I am not using it."^[37] The governmental Jewish Agency for Israel states that "Although reported as an annexation, it is not: the Golan Heights are not declared to be Israeli territory."^[38] On the other hand, the Benjamin Netanyahu government's Basic Policy Guidelines stated "The government views the Golan Heights as essential to the security of the state and its water resources. Retaining Israel's sovereignty over the Golan will be the basis for an arrangement with Syria."^[39] The UN does not recognize the "annexation", and officially considers the Heights to be Israeli occupied. This view was expressed in the unanimous UN Security Council Resolution 497, stating that "the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights is null and void and without international legal effect." It, like other relevant UN resolutions, takes care to not explicitly call it an "annexation", referring instead to Israel's "annexationist policies."

[edit] Three lines: 1923 border, 1949 armistice, and line of June 4, 1967

One of the aspects of the dispute involves the existence prior to 1967 of three different lines separating Syria from Israel (or, prior to 1948, from the British Mandate of Palestine).

The 1923 boundary between the British Mandate of Palestine and the French Mandate of Syria was drawn with water in mind.^[40] Accordingly, it was demarcated so that all of the Sea of Galilee, including a 10-meter wide strip of beach along its northeastern shore, would stay inside Palestine. From the Sea of Galilee north to Lake Hula the boundary was drawn between 50 and 400 meters east of the upper Jordan River, keeping that stream entirely within the British Mandate. The British also received a sliver of land along the Yarmouk River, out to the present-day Hamat Gader. From the perspective of the Palestinian mandate, no consideration appeared to be given to the future need to defend these boundaries—the strip of beach, the thin sliver along the Yarmouk, and the narrow strip to the east of the Jordan, all on ground lying well below the French-held Golan Heights and totally incapable of being fortified.

During the 1948-49 Arab-Israeli War, Syria captured various areas of the former Palestine mandate, including the 10-meter strip of beach, the east bank of the upper Jordan, as well as areas along the Yarmouk.

During Armistice talks of 1949, Israel called for the removal of all Syrian forces from the former Palestine territory. Syria refused, insisting on an armistice line based not on the 1923 international border but on the military status quo. The result was a compromise. Under the terms of an armistice signed on July 20, 1949, Syrian forces were to withdraw east of the old Palestine-Syria boundary. Israeli forces were to refrain from entering the evacuated areas, which would become a demilitarized zone, "from which the armed forces of both Parties shall be totally excluded, and in which no activities by military or paramilitary forces shall be permitted."^[41] Accordingly, major parts of the armistice lines departed from the 1923 boundary and protruded into Israel. There were three distinct, non-contiguous enclaves—in the extreme northeast to the west of Banias, on the west bank of the Jordan River near Lake Hula, and the eastern-southeastern shores of the Sea of Galilee extending out to Hamat Gader, consisting of 66.5 square kilometers of land lying between the 1949 armistice line and the 1923 boundary, forming the demilitarized zone.^[40]

Following the armistice, both Israel and Syria sought to take advantage of the territorial ambiguities left in place by the 1949 agreement. This resulted in an evolving tactical situation, one "snapshot" of which was the disposition of forces immediately prior to the Six-Day War, the “line of June 4, 1967”.^[40]

[edit] Shebaa Farms issue

Lebanon claims a small portion of the area, known as the Shebaa Farms, that lies on the border between Lebanon and the Golan Heights. Syria's foreign minister has orally declared that the Shebaa farms are Lebanese, but Syria has refused to notify the UN of its position officially. From the UN perspective, Shebaa remains Syrian until the Syrian government confirms its position through official channels. Israel considers the area to be a part of the Golan Heights, and therefore not Lebanese territory.

[edit] Maintenance of the ceasefire

UNDOF (the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force) was established in 1974 to supervise the implementation of the disengagement agreement and maintain the ceasefire with an area of separation known as the UNDOF Zone. Currently there are more than 1,000 UN peacekeepers there trying to sustain a lasting peace. Details of the UNDOF mission, mandate, map and military positions can be accessed via the following United Nations link [12]. Syria and Israel still contest the ownership of the Heights but have not used overt military force since 1974. The great strategic value of the Heights both militarily and as a source of water means that a deal is uncertain.

Members of the UN Disengagement force are usually the only individuals who cross the Israeli-Syrian de-facto border (cease fire "Alpha Line"), but since 1988 both Israel and Syria have taken measures to relieve the problems encountered by the Druze population of the Golan Heights. Since 1988 Israel has allowed Druze pilgrims to cross the border to visit the shrine of Abel in Syria. In 2005, Syria allowed a few trucks of Druze-grown Golan apples to be imported. The trucks themselves were driven by Kenyan nationals. Since 1967, Druze brides have been allowed to cross the Golan border into Syria, but they do so in the knowledge that the journey is a one-way trip. This phenomenon is shown in the Israeli film The Syrian Bride.

[edit] Negotiations

Syria insists that Israel must withdraw from the Golan Heights as part of any peace deal. During US-brokered peace talks in 1999–2000, Prime Minister Ehud Barak reportedly offered to withdraw from most of the Golan in return for a comprehensive peace structure and security arrangements. The disagreement in the final stages of the talks was on access to the Sea of Galilee.

According to media reports, the main sticking point was that Syria wanted Israel to withdraw to the June 4, 1967 line, while Israel wanted to use the 1923 international border. While Israel under Rabin and Peres had reportedly earlier taken steps toward accepting the pre-1967 line, Israel wishes to retain control of the Sea of Galilee, its main source of fresh water.^[42]

In June 2007, it was reported that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had sent a secret message to Syrian President, Bashar Assad saying that Israel would concede the land in exchange for a comprehensive peace agreement and the severing of Syria's ties with Iran and militant groups in the region.^[43] Former Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the former Syrian President, Hafez Assad had agreed that Mount Hermon will be in Israeli territory in any agreement.^[44]

In April 2008, Syrian media reported Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has told President Bashar al-Assad that Israel would withdraw from the Golan Heights in return for peace.^[45] Prime Minister Ehud Olmert responded "I can assure you that on matters concerning Israel and the Syrians, they are well aware of what I want from them, and I know very well what they want from us." ^[46] Israeli leaders of communities in the Golan Heights held a special meeting and stated: "all construction and development projects in the Golan are going ahead as planned, propelled by the certainty that any attempt to harm Israeli sovereignty in the Golan will cause severe damage to state security and thus is doomed to fail". ^[47]

Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will keep the Golan Heights forever, and: "I remember the Golan Heights without Katzrin, and suddenly we see a thriving city in the Land of Israel, which having been a gem of the Second Temple era has been revived anew."^[48] Regarding Olmert's negotiations with the Syrians, Netanyahu said: ""Giving of the Golan Heights will turn the Golan into Iran's front lines which will threaten the whole state of Israel."^[49]

[edit] History

[edit] Ancient history

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The area has been occupied by many civilizations. During the 3rd millennium BC the Amorites dominated and inhabited the Golan until the 2nd millennium, when the Arameans took over. The Aramaean city state Aram Damascus reached over all of Golan to the Sea of Galilee.^{[citation needed]}

According to the Bible, the Israelites invaded the Amorite homeland in Golan and took it from them. Dt 3:1: "Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei." Dt 3:2: "The LORD said to me, "Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon." Dt 3:3: "So the LORD our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors." Dt 3:4: "At that time we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them—the whole region of Argob, Og's kingdom in Bashan." Dt 3:5:"All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages." Dt 3:6: "We completely destroyed [a] them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying [b] every city—men, women and children." Dt 3:7: "But all the livestock and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves."

According to the Bible, the area, later known as Bashan, was inhabited by two Israelite tribes during the time of Joshua, the tribe of Dan — Dt 33:22: "And of Dan he said: Dan is a lion's whelp, that leapeth forth from Bashan" and Tribe of Manasseh. The city of Golan was used as a city of refuge. King Solomon appointed 3 ministers in the region — 1 Kg 4:13: "the son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him pertained the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; even to him pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars". After the split of the United Monarchy, the area was contested between the Kingdom of Israel (the northern of the two Jewish kingdoms existent at that time) and the Aramean kingdom from the 800s BC. King Ahab of Israel (reigned 874–852 BC) defeated Ben-Hadad I in the southern Golan. According to Jewish law the Golan is regarded as part of Canaan which is holier than the parts east of the Jordan river.^[50]

In the 700s BC the Assyrians gained control of the area, but were later replaced by the Babylonian and the Persian Empire. In the 5th century BC, the Persian Empire allowed the region to be resettled by returning Jewish exiles from Babylonian Captivity.

The Golan Heights, along with the rest of the region, came under the control of Alexander the Great in 332 BC, following the Battle of Issus. Following Alexander's death, the Golan came under the domination of the Macedonian noble Seleucus and remained part of the Seleucid Empire for most of the next two centuries. It is during this period that the name Golan, previously that of a city mentioned in Deuteronomy, came to be applied to the entire region (Greek: Gaulanitis).

The Maccabean Revolt saw much action in the regions around the Golan and it is possible that the Jewish communities of the Golan were among those rescued by Judas Maccabeus during his campaign in the Galilee and Gilead (Transjordan) mentioned in Chapter 5 of 1 Maccabees. The Golan, however, remained in Seleucid hands until the campaign of Alexander Jannaeus from 83–80 BC. Jannaeus established the city of Gamla in 81 BC as the Hasmonean capital for the region.

Following the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC, Augustus Caesar adjudicated that the Golan fell within the Tetrarchy of Herod's son, Herod Philip I. After Philip's death in 34 AD, the Romans absorbed the Golan into the province of Syria, but Caligula restored the territory to Herod's grandson Agrippa in 37. Following Agrippa's death in 44, the Romans again annexed the Golan to Syria, promptly to return it again when Claudius traded the Golan to Agrippa II, the son of Agrippa I, in 51 as part of a land swap. Although nominally under Agrippa's control and not part of the province of Judea, the Jewish communities of the Golan joined their coreligionists in the First Jewish-Roman War, only to fall to the Roman armies in its early stages. Gamla was captured in 67; according to Josephus, its inhabitants committed mass suicide, preferring it to crucifixion and slavery. Agrippa II contributed soldiers to the Roman war effort and attempted to negotiate an end to the revolt. In return for his loyalty, Rome allowed him to retain his kingdom, but finally absorbed the Golan for good after his death in 100.

In about 250, the Ghassanids, Arab Christian immigrants from Yemen, established a kingdom which encompassed southern Syria and the Transjordan, building their capital at Jabiyah on the Golan. Like the later Herodians, the Ghassanids ruled as clients of Byzantine Rome; unlike the Herodians, the Ghassanids were able to hold on to the Golan until the Sassanid invasion of 614. Following a brief restoration under the Emperor Heraclius, the Golan again fell, this time to the invading Arabs after the Battle of Yarmouk in 636.

After Yarmouk, Muawiyah I, a member of Muhammad's tribe, the Quraish, was appointed governor of Syria, including the Golan. Following the assassination of his cousin, the Caliph Uthman, Muawiya claimed the Caliphate for himself, initiating the Umayyad dynasty. Over the next few centuries, while remaining in Muslim hands, the Golan passed through many dynastic changes, falling first to the Abbasids, then to the Shi'ite Fatimids, then to the Seljuk Turks, then to the Kurdish Ayyubids. During the Crusades, the Heights represented a formidable obstacle the Crusader armies were not able to conquer. The Mongols swept through in 1259, but were driven off by the Mamluk sultan Qutuz at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260. Ain Jalut ensured Mamluk dominance of the region for the next 250 years.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Druze began to settle the northern Golan and the slopes of Mount Hermon. In the 16th century, the Ottoman Turks came in control of the area and remained so until the end of World War I. During the Ottoman Empire (1517-1917), the Golan was considered a part of the Syrian (Southern) district of their empire.

In 1886, the Jewish B'nei Yehuda society of Safed purchased a plot of land four kilometers north of the present-day religious moshav of Keshet, but the community, named Ramataniya, failed one year later. In 1887, the society purchased lands between the modern-day Bene Yehuda and Kibbutz Ein Gev. This community survived until 1920, when two of its last members were murdered in the anti-Jewish riots which erupted in the spring of that year. In 1891, Baron Rothschild purchased approximately 18,000 acres (73 km²) of land in the Hauran, about 15 km east of modern Ramat Hamagshimim. Immigrants of the First Aliyah (1881–1903) established five small communities on this land, but were forced to leave by the Ottomans in 1898. The lands were farmed until 1947 by the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association and the Jewish Colonization Association, when they were seized by the Syrian army.^[51]

[edit] Between World War I and the Six-Day War

Great Britain accepted a Mandate for Palestine at the meeting of the Allied Supreme Council at San Remo, but the borders of the territory were not defined at that stage.^[52][53] The boundary between the forthcoming British and French mandates was defined in broad terms by the Franco-British Boundary Agreement of December 1920.^[54] That agreement placed the bulk of the Golan Heights in the French sphere. The treaty also established a joint commission to settle the precise details of the border and mark it on the ground. ^[54] The commission submitted its final report on February 3, 1922, and it was approved with some caveats by the British and French governments on March 7, 1923, several months before Britain and France assumed their Mandatory responsibilities on 29 September 1923.^[55][56] In accordance with the same process, a nearby parcel of land that included the ancient site of Tel Dan was transferred from Syria to Palestine early in 1924. The Golan Heights thus became part of the French Mandate of Syria, while the Sea of Galilee was placed entirely within the British Mandate of Palestine. When the French Mandate of Syria ended in 1944, the Golan Heights became part of the newly independent state of Syria.

After the 1948–49 Arab-Israeli War, the Golan Heights were partly demilitarized by the Israel-Syria Armistice Agreement. Over the following years the Mixed Armistice Commission (which oversaw the implementation of the Israel-Syria Armistice Agreement) reported many violations by each side. The major causes of the conflict were a dispute over the disposition of the demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria, competition over water resources, and the Israel-Palestinian conflict.^[57] Israel attempted to take water from the Jordan River in the demilitarized zone, to which Syria responded with a plan to divert water from the Jordan's tributaries. Israel ceased its project in the mid 1950s due to UN and US pressure but resuscitated it in the 1960s. Syria's plan, which it started implementing in 1965 with help from Lebanon and Jordan, sparked a series of military exchanges culminating in an Israeli attack in July 1966 which effectively destroyed it.^[57] The Palestinian organization Fatah began raids into Israeli territory in early 1965, with active support from Syria. At first the guerillas entered via Lebanon or Jordan, but those countries made concerted attempts to stop them and raids directly from Syria increased.^[58] Israel's response was a series of retaliatory raids, of which the largest were an attack on the Jordanian village of Samu in November 1966,^[59] and in April 1967, after Syria heavily shelled Israeli villages from the Golan Heights, Israel shot down six of Syria’s MiG fighter planes, provided by the Soviet Union. Israel warned Syria against future attacks.^[58][60]

Before the Six-Day War, the strategic heights of the Golan, which are approximately 3,000 feet (1,000 m) above the bordering Hulah Valley in Israel, were used to frequently bombard civilian Israeli farming communities far below them, although Moshe Dayan (Israeli Defense Minister during the 1967 war) would later state that it was often the result of Israeli provocations in the demilitarized zone.^[61] According to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, former Israeli General Mattityahu Peled claimed that more than half of the border clashes before the 1967 war "were a result of our security policy of maximum settlement in the demilitarized area".^[62] Syrian attacks killed 140 Israelis and injured many more from 1949 to 1967.

In an interview from 1976, published in 1997, Moshe Dayan has said: "Look, it's possible to talk in terms of 'the Syrians are bastards, you have to get them, and this is the right time,' and other such talk, but that is not policy, You don't strike at the enemy because he is a bastard, but because he threatens you. And the Syrians, on the fourth day of the war, were not a threat to us." "After all, I know how at least 80 percent of the clashes there started. In my opinion, more than 80 percent, but let's talk about 80 percent. It went this way: We would send a tractor to plow some area where it wasn't possible to do anything, in the demilitarized area, and knew in advance that the Syrians would start to shoot. If they didn't shoot, we would tell the tractor to advance farther, until in the end the Syrians would get annoyed and shoot. And then we would use artillery and later the air force also, and that's how it was." "The kibbutzim there saw land that was good for agriculture," "And you must remember, this was a time in which agricultural land was considered the most important and valuable thing." "Of course they wanted the Syrians to get out of their face. They suffered a lot because of the Syrians. Look, as I said before, they were sitting in the kibbutzim and they worked the land and had kids and lived there and wanted to live there. The Syrians across from them were soldiers who fired at them, and of course they didn't like it." "But I can tell you with absolute confidence, the delegation that came to persuade Eshkol to take the heights was not thinking of these things. They were thinking about the heights' land. Listen, I'm a farmer, too. After all, I'm from Nahalal, not from Tel Aviv, and I know about it. I saw them, and I spoke to them. They didn't even try to hide their greed for that land.^[63]

In May 1967 before the Six-Day War of 1967, Hafez Assad, then Syria's Defense Minister declared: "Our forces are now entirely ready not only to repulse the aggression, but to initiate the act of liberation itself, and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland. The Syrian Army, with its finger on the trigger, is united... I, as a military man, believe that the time has come to enter into a battle of annihilation."^[64][65]

During the Six-Day War of 1967 Syria's shelling greatly intensified and the Israeli army captured the Golan Heights on 9–10 June. The area which came under Israeli control as a result of the war is two geologically distinct areas: the Golan Heights proper (413 sq mi; 1,070 km²) and the slopes of the Mt. Hermon range (39 sq mi; 100 km²). The new border between the two forces was called the Purple Line.

[edit] History since the Six-Day War

Between 80,000 and 109,000 of the Golan's inhabitants, mainly Druze Arabs and Circassians, fled or were driven out during the Six-Day War.^[66][67] For various political and security reasons, Israel has not allowed those who fled to return.^[62]

Israel began settling the Golan almost immediately following the war. Kibbutz Merom Golan was founded in July 1967. By 1970 there were 12 Jewish settlements on the Golan and in 2004 there were 34 settlements populated by around 18,000 people.^[68] Today the Golan is firmly under Israeli control.

During the Yom Kippur War in 1973, Syrian forces overran much of the southern Golan, before being pushed back by an Israeli counterattack. Israel and Syria signed a ceasefire agreement in 1974 that left almost all the Heights in Israeli hands, while returning a narrow demilitarized zone to Syrian control.

The Syrian citizens who remained in the area after it was captured by Israel in 1967 were required to carry Israeli military identity papers. In the late 1970s, the Likud government of Israel began pressuring them to request Israeli citizenship by tying it to privileges such as the right to obtain a driver's license or to travel in Israel. In March 1981, the community leaders imposed a socio-religious ban on Israeli citizenship. Protests came to a head after the November 1981 effective annexation of the Golan Heights by Israel. They included a general strike that lasted for five months and demonstrations that sometimes became violent. The Israeli authorities responded by suspending habeas corpus, imprisoning the protest leaders and imposing curfews and other restrictions. On April 1, 1982, a 24-hour curfew was imposed and soldiers went from door to door confiscating the old ID cards and replacing them with cards signifying Israeli citizenship. This action caused an international outcry including two condemnatory UN resolutions.^[69][70] Israel eventually relented and permitted retention of Syrian citizenship, as well as agreeing not to enforce the mandatory draft.

Syria has always demanded a full Israeli withdrawal to the June 4, 1967 borders, including a strip of land on the east shore of the Sea of Galilee that Syria captured during the 1948–49 Arab-Israeli War and occupied from 1949–67. Successive Israeli governments have considered an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan (of an unspecified extent) in return for normalization of relations with Syria, provided certain security concerns are met. Prior to 2000, Syrian president Hafez al-Assad rejected normalization with Israel.

During United States–brokered negotiations in 1999–2000, Israel and Syria discussed a peace deal that would include an Israeli withdrawal in return for peace, recognition and full normalization of relations. Israel insisted on the pre-1948 border (the 1923 Paulet-Newcombe line), while Syria insisted on the 1967 frontier. The former line has never been recognized by Syria, claiming it was imposed by the colonial powers, while the latter has been rejected by Israel as a result of Syrian aggression during 1948–67. The difference between the lines is less than 100 m for the most part, but the 1967 line would give Syria access to the Sea of Galilee, Israel's only freshwater lake and a major water resource.

In late 2003, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he was ready to revive peace talks with Israel. Israel demanded Syria first disarm Hezbollah, who launched many attacks on northern Israeli towns and army posts from Lebanese territory and cease to host militant Palestinian groups and their headquarters. Peace talks were not initiated.

After the 2006 war between Israel and Syrian–Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas, the issue of the Golan Heights arose again. Israel heightened its alert over a possible war with Syria after Israeli intelligence assessed that Syria was "seriously examining" military action. Syria reinforced its forces on the Golan while remaining in a defensive position.^{[citation needed]} President Assad stated that Syria was prepared to hold peace talks with Israel but said that if hopes for peace dissolve then "war may really be the only solution". Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert dismissed calls within his coalition to consider peace talks and proclaimed that "the Golan Heights will remain in our hands forever".^[71][72][73] Others, including cabinet minister Shimon Peres and Ehud Olmert's spokesman Assaf Shariv doubted Assad's sincerity and suggested that Assad's statements were a bid at deflecting international criticism of his regime and specifically explaining that the alleged approach by Assad "is coming in the weeks before the decision on Rafik Hariri", referring to the international inquiry on the murder of the former Lebanese prime minister, a harsh critic of the Syrian presence in Lebanon.^[74][75]

In June 2007, approximately 40 years following the Six Day War in which Israel took over the Golan Heights, it was reported that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had sent a secret message to Syrian President, Bashar Assad, saying that Israel would return the land in exchange for a comprehensive peace agreement and the severing of Syria's ties with Iran and terror groups in the region.^[76] Meanwhile, on the same day, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the former Syrian President, Hafez Assad, had promised to give him Mount Hermon in any agreement.^[77]

In May 2009, a couple months after Netanyahu became the PM of Israel he proclaimed that Israel will never withdraw from Golan.^[78]

[edit] Towns, villages and settlements

[edit] Israeli

The Golan Heights' administrative center, which is also its largest Israeli settlement, is the town of Katzrin, built in the 1970s on the site of the ruins of the Katzrin Ancient Village. There are another 19 moshavim and 10 kibbutzim.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Syrian

East of the 1973 ceasefire line, in the Syrian controlled part of the Golan Heights, an area of 600 km², are more than 40 Syrian towns and villages, including Quneitra, Khan Arnabah, Alhameedia, Alrafeed, Alsamdaneea, Almudareea, Beer Ajam, Barika, Gadeer Albustan, Hadar, Juba, Kodana, Ofanya, Rwaiheena, Nabe’ Alsakher, Trinja, Umm Ale’zam, and Umm batna.

[edit] Quneitra

Quneitra was the biggest city in the Golan Heights until 1967, and the capital of the Quneitra Governorate in southwestern Syria. Quneitra now is largely destroyed and abandoned. The city was founded back in the Ottoman era as a way station on the caravan route to Damascus, and subsequently became a garrison town of some 27,000 people. It came under Israeli control on the last day of the Six-Day War and was almost completely destroyed before the Israeli withdrawal in June 1974. Israel was heavily criticized by the United Nations for the city's destruction,^[79] while Israel has also criticized Syria for not rebuilding Quneitra.^[80]

[edit] Other

According to Syrian sources, the population of the Golan Heights (estimated to be 147,613 persons in 1966) inhabited 312 separate residential areas,^[81] including two cities, Al-Quneitra and Fiq, 163 villages and 108 farms and localities in the Golan Heights before 1967.^[82]

131,000 people were expelled to Syrian controlled territory.^[81] Around 7,000 people remained in the Golan in six villages: Majdal Shams, Mas'ade, Buq'ata, Ein Qinyeh, Ghajar, and Su’heita, which was completely destroyed and transformed into an Israeli military post after deporting its people to Mas'ade. The Israeli authorities then wiped out all remains of the other cities and villages, leveling them and building settlements in their place.^[81] Some 40 of Syria's villages in the undisputed part survived the demolition, being on the eastern side of the 1974 ceasefire line.

Destroyed Villages: Except for 4 Druze villages in the captured part of the Golan Heights, almost all the Syrian towns and villages were totally shoveled or destroyed over the next few years after 1967. Fiq, Khishneeiah, Alkersi, Ain Ziwan, Almansurah, and Khisfeen are among the demolished towns and villages in the captured part of the Golan Heights.

[edit] Sites

[edit] Katzrin

Katzrin is regarded as "the capital of the Golan Heights" and as such hosts a large number of attractions. The Katzrin Ancient Village is fully excavated and one can tour the different houses in the village as well as the remains of a large synagogue. There is also an interactive movie experience about the Talmudic time within the compound. The Golan Archaeological Museum hosts archaeological finds uncovered in the Golan Heights from prehistoric times. A special focus concerns Gamla and excavations of synagogues and Byzantine churches. Throughout the Golan Heights 29 ancient synagogues were found dating back to the Roman and Byzantine periods. Katzrin is home to the Golan Heights Winery, a major winery of Israel and the mineral water plant of Mey Eden which derives its water from the spring of Salukiya in the Golan. One can tour these factories as well as factories of oil products and fruit products. It also has two open air strip malls one which holds the Kesem Hagolan or the "Golan Magic" a three-dimensional movie and model of the geography and history of the Golan Heights [13] [14] [15].

[edit] Gamla Nature Reserve

The Gamla Nature Reserve is an open park which holds the archaeological remains of the ancient city of Gamla — including the tower, the wall and the synagogue. It's also the site of a large waterfall, an ancient Byzantine church, and a panoramic spot to observe the nearly 100 vultures who dwell in the cliffs. Israeli scientists study the vultures and tourists can watch them fly and nest.^[83]

[edit] Gilgal Refaim

A large impressive circular stone monument, similar to the famous Stonehenge. This monument can best be seen from the air due to its size. A 3D model of the site exists in the Museum of Golan Antiquities in Katzrin.

[edit] Um el Kanatir

Um el Kanatir is another impressive set of standing ruins of a Jewish village of the Byzantine era. The site includes a very large synagogue and two arcs next to a water source.^[84] The arcs have been dubbed Rehavam Arcs after Rehavam Zeevi.^[31][85]

[edit] Nimrod Fortress

An ancient fortress used by the Ayyubids, Crusaders, the Mongols and Mamluks in many fierce battles. This is now a nature reserve open for exploring.

[edit] Mount Hermon

There is a ski resort on the slopes of Mount Hermon that features a wide range of ski trails at novice, intermediate, and expert levels. It offers additional winter family activities such as sled-riding and Nordic skiing. Those who operate the Hermon Ski area live in the nearby moshav of Neve Ativ and the town of Majdal Shams. The ski resort has a ski school, ski patrol, and several restaurants located on both the bottom and the peak of the area. Near the mountain resides the crater lake of Birkat Ram.

[edit] Hamat Gader

A site of hot mineral springs with temperatures up to 50°C used for recreation and healing purposes. Hamat Gader was already widely known as a recreation site in Roman times. The site includes a Roman theatre, which was built in the 3rd century CE and contained 2,000 seats. A large synagogue was built in the 5th century CE.

[edit] Hippos

An ancient Greco-Roman city, known in Jewish Aramaic as Susita סוסיתא, now an archaeological site, the excavations include the city's forum, the small imperial cult temple, a large Hellenistic temple compound, the Roman city gates, and two Byzantine churches. Both the Greek and Aramaic names are derived from the words for "horse".

[edit] Gallery

[edit] See also

• Israeli-occupied territories
• Borders of Israel
• Golan
• Golan Regional Council
• International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict
• UN Security Council Resolution 242
• UN Security Council Resolution 452
• UN Security Council Resolution 465
• UN Security Council Resolution 471
• Six-Day War
• Yom Kippur War
• Shebaa Farms
• Israel–Syria relations
• Independent Israel–Syria peace initiatives

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Biger, Gideon (2005). The Boundaries of Modern Palestine, 1840–1947. London: Routledge. ISBN 0714656542.
• Bregman, Ahron (2002). Israel's Wars: A History Since 1947. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-28716-6.
• Louis, Wm. Roger (1969). "The United Kingdom and the Beginning of the Mandates System, 1919–1922". International Organization, 23(1), pp. 73–96.
• Maar'i, Tayseer, and Usama Halabi (1992). "Life under occupation in the Golan Heights". Journal of Palestine Studies 22: 78–93. doi:10.1525/jps.1992.22.1.00p0166n. 
• Maoz, Asher (1994). "Application of Israeli law to the Golan Heights is annexation". Brooklyn Journal of International Law 20, afl. 2: 355–96. 
• Morris, Benny (2001). Righteous Victims. New York, Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-679-74475-7.
• Sheleff, Leon (1994). "Application of Israeli law to the Golan Heights is not annexation". Brooklyn Journal of International Law 20, afl. 2: 333–53. 
• Zisser, Eyal (2002). "June 1967: Israel's capture of the Golan Heights". Israel Studies 7,1: 168–194. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Golan Heights

• Gaulonitis in the Jewish Encyclopedia
• Golan, Gaulonitis in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• Golan Residents Committee
• Qatzrin
• Golan Heights from palestinefacts.org
• from the Moshe Dayan Memoirs
• Golan Heights Examination
• A View From Damascus: Internal Refugees From Golan’s 244 Destroyed Syrian Villages from Washington Report
• Golan Heights Town Tells Tale of Israeli-Arab War from Damascus online
• Planetware travel guide
• Golan Heights Winery
• After 40 years, could the ice be melting on the Golan Heights?
• "Golan Heights Will Supply All Energy Needs Within A Year"
• "The Golan Heights and the Syrian-Israeli Negotiations" Dr. Dore Gold, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

Coordinates: 32°58′54″N 35°44′58″E / 32.98167°N 35.74944°E / 32.98167; 35.74944