Golan Heights - Research Paper Example

This assignment will take a look at what the Golan Heights are and what the significance of this area is. A brief historical overview of who has occupied the Golan Heights will be given in order to further understand the history and value of this area. An analysis of the conflict between Syria and Israel over the Golan Heights will be given, as well as the various attempts at resolving the conflict. Finally, it will be determined how the issue stands today and what the future for this dispute may hold. 2. THE GOLAN HEIGHTS The Golan Heights is a plateau region of 1800 sq km on the border of Israel and Syria.

Its highest point is Mount Hermon in the north which is 2800 metres high and it reaches below sea level in the south on the Sea of Galilee. Israel occupies 1200 sq km of the area; although, it is recognised as Syrian land. There are 41 Israeli settlements in the Israeli occupied zone and approximately 19100 Israelis living there. Over twenty thousand Syrians live in the area; mostly they are of the Druze sect. [cia world fact book, 2011] The Golan Heights is known for its rich farming land, as well as abundant water supplies which include the headwaters of the Jordan River, the Baniyas Springs and the Yarmuk River.

The water from this area makes up 30% of Israel’s total fresh water supply. . Between the third and second millennium B.C. the Amorites inhabited the region until the Arameans conquered the land. Biblical references indicate that the Golan Heights were then seized from the Amaraens by the Israelites and settled by the Manasseh tribe in 800 B.C. During the next centuries the Heights were conquered by first the Assyrians, then the Babylonian empire and then by the Persian Empire. Alexander the Great also took control over the heights before it finally fell into Roman hands.

During the Roman era, the Heights were periodically given to the Syrian province then traded to Israel again. In 636 A.D. the Arabs took over the Golan Heights after the battle of Yarmouk and remained under Muslim rule for many centuries; although it did fall under various dynasties during this time. The Golan Heights was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire between 1516 until the end of World War I, after which it passed to France’s rule on a mandate of the League of Nations. Syria received its independence in 1944 and the Golan Heights were officially a part of the country.

[Golan Sights, 2009] From this turbulent history it can be seen how important the Heights were deemed to be over the years. Thus, it is not surprising that conflict over the region still rages. 4. THE CONFLICT Conflict over the Golan Heights began almost immediately after the withdrawal of the European mandatory forces. War broke out between Syria and Israel between 1948 and 1949. At the end of the war, the two sides agreed to partly demilitarize the Golan Heights within accordance of the Syria-Israel Armistice Agreement.

However, both sides violated the agreement; with Israel attempting to use water from the Jordan River in the demilitarized zone and both countries sending raids into