Shebaa Farms - Current Dispute

Current Dispute

When Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 during the Six Day War, the Shebaa Farms were considered in practice to be part of the Syrian territory. Lebanon was not an active participant in the war. In 1981 Israel extended Israeli law to the region under its Golan Heights Law. The United Nations Security Council has declared this extension of " laws, jurisdiction and administration... null and void and without international legal effect" in Resolution 497, which was not passed with Chapter VII enforcement powers.

A controversy arose following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from occupied territory in Southern Lebanon on May 24, 2000. On June 18, 2000, the United Nations affirmed that Israel had withdrawn its forces from Lebanon, in accordance with Resolution 425. Syria and Lebanon disputed the United Nations certification that Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon was complete. Hezbollah cites the ongoing occupation of the Shebaa farms as one reason for its continued attacks on Israel.

Between 2000–2005, Hezbollah attacked the IDF at Shebaa/Har Dov 33 times, resulting in seven Israeli soldiers killed in action, three taken prisoner, and dozens wounded.

For decades members of the international diplomatic community have repeatedly requested that Syria and Lebanon take steps to determine the exact boundary between them in the Shebaa Farms region and Syria, including officially registering the demarcated border with the United Nations. However, recently President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has refused to do so until Israeli troops withdraw. On October 31, 2007, the definition of the physical extent of the Shebaa Farms area by former UN cartographer Miklos Pinther was released by the UN. This could be a prelude to an eventual negotiated demarcation of the territory.