Shebaa Farms

Shebaa Farms is a disputed area consisting of 14 farms located south of Shebaa, a Lebanese village on the western slopes of Mount Hermon , at the corner where Syria , Lebanon and Israel meet. It is about 14 km in length and 2 km in width, at altitudes of 400 to 2,000 meters. This fertile farm land produces barley, fruits and vegetables. The village of Shebaa is not part of the Shebaa Farms area. The region remained under Israeli control after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. Hezbollah leaders and the Lebanese government consider the Shebaa Farms to be part of Lebanon. Israel considers the Shebaa Farms to be part of the Golan Heights . Syrian authorities consider Shebaa Farms as part of Lebanon in contradiction to the 1949 Armistice Agreements . Israel took control of Shebaa Farms during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war , in which Syria but not Lebanon took part, and says the area is not covered by United Nations UN Security Council Resolution 425 that governs its withdrawal from southern Lebanon. This resolution asks for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon according to the line its forces were positioned at before the May 14 1978 invasion. (See: Blue Line (Lebanon) ) On May 22 2000 , Israel completed its withdrawal from the south of Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 425 [1] . The UN has certified Israel's pullout [2] , and regards the Shebaa Farms as occupied Syrian territory. The January 20 , 2005 UN Secretary-General's report on Lebanon explicitly stated: "The continually asserted position of the Government of Lebanon that the Blue Line is not valid in the Shab'a farms area is not compatible with Security Council resolutions. The Government of Lebanon should heed the Council’s repeated calls for the parties to respect the Blue Line in its entirety." [3]

Shebaa Farms ( , Mazāri‘ Šib‘ā ; , Havot Sheba‘a or הר דוב, Har Dov ) refers to a small piece of land with disputed sovereignty on the border between Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights . Both Syria and Lebanon agree that the Shebaa Farms are within Lebanese territory, however, Israel maintains that the area is within Syria's borders and continues to occupy the territory. The United Nations agreed with Israel that the area is not covered by United Nations Security Council Resolution 425 , which governed the withdrawal from Lebanon, inasmuch as the Farms are not Lebanese territory, and the UN certified Israel's pullout.

Small disputed territory between Lebanon and Israel Map of the Shebaa Farms Shebaa Farms , also spelled Sheba'a Farms ( , Mazāri‘ Šib‘ā ; , Havot Sheba‘a or הר דוב, Har Dov ) is a small strip of disputed land at the intersection of the Lebanese-Syrian border and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights . The territory is about 11 kilometres (7 mi) long and 2.5 kilometres (2 mi) wide. The dispute over ownership of Shebaa Farms resulted in part from the failure of the French Mandate administrations, and later the Lebanese and Syrian governments, to demarcate the border between Lebanon and Syria . Documents from the 1920s and 1930s indicate that inhabitants paid taxes to the Lebanese government. However, from the early 1950s until Israel 's occupation of the Golan Heights in the Six-Day War , Syria was the de facto ruling power. In 1978 Israel invaded and occupied Southern Lebanon , and in 1981, the Golan Heights, including the Shebaa Farms, were annexed by Israel, a move only recognized by the United States . The territory has been a flashpoint for violence since Israel withdrew from Lebanon in May 2000 . Hezbollah claimed that the withdrawal was not complete because Shebaa was on Lebanese – not Syrian – territory. Following the Israeli withdrawal, the United Nations Secretary General issued a statement proposing the area for the operations of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ; in the statement the controversy was described, with 81 different maps being studied; the UN concluded that there is no evidence of the abandoned farmlands being Lebanese, but proposed to maintain the existing boundaries of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in Syria (which had included the Shebaa Farms since 1967) "without prejudice" to any future agreement between Syria and Lebanon. Low level conflict continued in the area, in particular during 2000-06 and in early 2015 . In August 2008, the president of Lebanon, Michel Suleiman stated: "The countdown for liberating the rest of our lands has begun. And today I confirm the [use] of all available and legitimate means to achieve this goal".

Small disputed territory between Lebanon and Israel Map of the Shebaa Farms The Shebaa Farms , also spelled Sheba'a Farms ( , Mazāri' Šib‘ā ; Havot Sheba‘a , or הר דוב , Har Dov ), are a small strip of land at the intersection of the Lebanese-Syrian border and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights . The territory is named for the farms within it which were historically tended by the inhabitants of the Lebanese town of Shebaa . It is about 11 kilometres (7 mi) long and 2.5 kilometres (2 mi) wide. The territory is currently disputed, in part from the failure of the French Mandate administrations and later the Lebanese and Syrian governments, to demarcate the border between Lebanon and Syria . Documents from the 1920s and 1930s indicate that inhabitants paid taxes to the Lebanese government. However, from the early 1950s until Israel 's occupation of the Golan Heights in the Six-Day War , Syria was the de facto ruling power. In 1978 Israel invaded and occupied Southern Lebanon , and in 1981, the Golan Heights, including the Shebaa Farms, were annexed by Israel, a move only recognized by the United States . The territory has been a flashpoint for violence since Israel withdrew from Lebanon in May 2000 . Hezbollah claimed that the withdrawal was not complete because Shebaa was on Lebanese – not Syrian – territory. Following the Israeli withdrawal, the United Nations Secretary General issued a statement proposing the area for the operations of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ; in the statement the controversy was described, with 81 different maps being studied; the UN concluded that there is no evidence of the abandoned farmlands being Lebanese, but proposed to maintain the existing boundaries of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in Syria (which had included the Shebaa Farms since 1967) "without prejudice" to any future agreement between Syria and Lebanon. Low-level conflict continued in the area from 2000 to 2006 and in early 2015 . In August 2008, the president of Lebanon, Michel Suleiman , stated: "The countdown for liberating the rest of our lands has begun. And today I confirm the [use] of all available and legitimate means to achieve this goal".

Disputed territory in the Levant Map showing the location of the Shebaa Farms The Shebaa Farms , also spelled Sheba'a Farms ( Arabic : مزارع شبعا , Mazāri' Šib‘ā ; Hebrew : חוות שבעא Havot Sheba‘a), also known as Mount Dov (Hebrew: הר דב , romanized: Har Dov ), is a strip of land on the Lebanese–Syrian border that is currently occupied by Israel. Lebanon claims the Shebaa Farms as its own territory, and Syria agrees with this position. Israel claims it is part of the Golan Heights , Syrian territory that it has occupied since 1967 and effectively annexed in 1981. This dispute plays a significant role in contemporary Israel–Lebanon relations . The territory is named for the farms within it which were historically tended by the inhabitants of the Lebanese town of Shebaa . It is about 11 kilometres (7 mi) long and 2.5 kilometres (2 mi) wide. The French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon administration did not demarcate the border between Lebanon and Syria , nor was this done later by Lebanese and Syrian governments. Documents from the 1920s and 1930s indicate that inhabitants paid taxes to the Lebanese government. From the early 1950s to Israel 's occupation of the Golan Heights in the Six-Day War , Syria was the de facto ruling power. In 1978 Israel invaded and occupied Southern Lebanon . In 1981, the Golan Heights, including the Shebaa Farms, were annexed by Israel , a move not recognized by the international community. Israel considers it part of the Golan Heights and continues to hold it, along with the Golan, under military occupation . The territory has been a flashpoint for violence since Israel withdrew from Lebanon in May 2000 . Hezbollah claimed that the withdrawal was not complete because Shebaa was on Lebanese – not Syrian – territory. Following the Israeli withdrawal, the UN certified the completion of Israel's pullout. Later the United Nations Secretary General issued a statement proposing the area for the operations of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ; in the statement the controversy was described, with 81 different maps being studied; the UN concluded that there is no evidence of the abandoned farmlands being Lebanese, but proposed to maintain the existing boundaries of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in Syria (which had included the Shebaa Farms since 1967) "without prejudice" to any future agreement between Syria and Lebanon. Low-level conflict continued in the area from 2000 to 2006 and in early 2015 . In August 2008, the president of Lebanon, Michel Suleiman , stated: "The countdown for liberating the rest of our lands has begun. And today I confirm the [use] of all available and legitimate means to achieve this goal". Israeli views on Shebaa Farms harden , BBC Wiegand, K.E.