Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights

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British and French Mandates

Following World War I, portions of the former territory of the Ottoman Empire was split into several League of Nations mandates under the control of one of the victorious Allied countries of the war. The British Mandate for Palestine and the French Mandate for Syria were two such mandates, with the border finalized between the two in the Paulet–Newcombe Agreement. The border, drawn in 1923, was the first international border between Syria and Palestine and to date is the last, [6] with the remaining boundaries since then having been a result of armistice agreements. The boundary placed the entirety of the Sea of Galilee, along with a ten meter wide strip on the eastern shore, within the British Mandate. [7] The French Mandate ended in 1946 with the independence of the Republic of Syria, and Syria demanded changes to the border to allow for greater access to fresh water sources, demands the British refused on the basis that the border had been submitted and approved to the League of Nations and Britain thus considered the matter closed. [8]

Post-mandate period

The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, which followed Israel's declaration of independence, resulted in the newly formed state of Israel in control over roughly 77% of what had been the territory of the British Mandate. [9] Syria had however advanced to the eastern shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, where the border as delineated by the British and the French was ten meters east of the shoreline. [10] [7] In the armistice negotiations that followed the declaration of a ceasefire, that ten meter strip was included in a demilitarized zone as Israel had argued for. [11]

Six-Day War and aftermath

In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied a majority of the Golan Heights from Syria. Following the war, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 242, which called on Israel to withdraw from territories occupied in the war in exchange for the termination of all states of belligerency and recognition of Israel as a sovereign state by the Arab states. [12] The 1973 Arab-Israeli War saw further territorial gains by Israel, though Israel agreed to return to the 1967 ceasefire line in the 1974 disengagement agreement between Israel and Syria. [13] Syria has continued to insist on the return of the Golan in any negotiated peace agreement between the two countries. [14]

Settlements

As of 2019, the population of Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights was over 25,000.

Golan Heights Law

On 14 December 1981 the Israeli Knesset passed the Golan Heights Law. While the law did not use the term annexation, it was considered to be an annexation by the Israeli opposition and international community. [15] [16]

The action was condemned internationally, and in response the United Nations Security Council passed United Nations Security Council Resolution 497 declaring the law "null and void and without international legal effect" and that the Fourth Geneva Convention continued to apply to the Golan as an occupied territory. [17] [18] [19]

International views

The international community, with the exception of Israel and the United States, regards the Golan to be Syrian territory held under Israeli occupation. [20] [19] [21] A number of states recognize the Israeli occupation as being legitimate under the United Nations Charter on a self-defense basis, but do not consider those concerns to allow for the annexation of territory seized by force. [19]

In March 2019, the United States, which previously considered the Golan Heights to be occupied, became the first country to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the territory it has held since 1967. The US recognition was lobbied by Israeli officials. [5] The rest of the international community continues to view the territory as Syrian, held under Israeli occupation. [3] [4] The European Union members of the United Nations Security Council issued a joint statement condemning the US announcement and the UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement saying that the status of the Golan Heights had not changed. [22] [23] [24] The Arab League denounced the US move, declaring that Trump's recognition does not change the area's status." [25]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Security Council Resolution 497</span> United Nations Security Council resolution negating Golan Heights Law

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The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau, at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in the north and Wadi Raqqad in the east. Two thirds of the area has been occupied by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War and then effectively annexed in 1981 – an action unrecognized by the international community, which continues to consider it Israeli-occupied Syrian territory.

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Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as in the Syrian Golan Heights, are illegal under international law. These settlements are in violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and in breach of international declarations. In a 2024 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the court reaffirmed the illegality of the settlements and called on Israel to end its occupation, cease its settlement activity, and evacuate all its settlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Marsad</span> Human rights organization

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel</span> 2019 U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Syrias Golan Heights

On March 25, 2019, the United States officially recognized the Golan Heights as being under the sovereignty of Israel. Signed into effect by the Trump administration, the U.S. presidential proclamation marked the first instance of any country recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights; the territory is viewed as part of Syria under international law, though it has been under an Israeli military occupation since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War. In 1981, Israel's government passed the Golan Heights Law — a de facto annexation of the territory.

References

  1. ↑ "United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/78/77" (PDF). UN. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "This Week in History: The Arab League Three No's". Jerusalem Post . Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  3. 1 2 Aji, Albert (26 March 2019). "Trump acceptance of Israeli control of Golan sparks protests". Associated Press. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Trump's Golan move unites Gulf States and Iran in condemnation". France 24. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  5. 1 2 Wilner, Michael (28 February 2019). "GOP lawmakers introduce bill recognizing Israeli sovereignty over Golan". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  6. ↑ Kipnis, Yigal (2013). The Golan Heights: Political History, Settlement and Geography since 1949. Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics. Taylor & Francis. p. 235. ISBN   978-1-136-74092-3 . Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  7. 1 2 Balanche, F. (2017). Atlas of the Near East: State Formation and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1918-2010. Brill. p. 114. ISBN   978-90-04-34518-8 . Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  8. ↑ Capinera, John (2019). Israel And Syria: Peace And Security On The Golan. Taylor & Francis. p. 27. ISBN   978-0-429-71086-5 . Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  9. ↑ Oberschall, A. (2007). Conflict and Peace Building in Divided Societies: Responses to Ethnic Violence. Taylor & Francis. p. 129. ISBN   978-1-134-12814-3 . Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  10. ↑ Cordesman, Anthony (2008). Israel and Syria : the military balance and prospects of war. Praeger Security International Published in cooperation with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. p. 222. ISBN   978-0-313-35520-2. OCLC   615600412 . Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  11. ↑ Ben-Dror, Elad (2015). Ralph Bunche and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: Mediation and the UN, 1947-1949. Israeli History, Politics and Society. Taylor & Francis. p. 234. ISBN   978-1-317-65470-4 . Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  12. ↑ Zacher, Mark (1 June 2001). "The Territorial Integrity Norm: International Boundaries and the Use of Force". International Organization. 55 (2). Cambridge University Press (CUP): 231–232. doi:10.1162/00208180151140568. ISSN   1531-5088. JSTOR   3078631. S2CID   154890372.
  13. ↑ Rabinovich, Itamar (2009). The Brink of Peace: The Israeli-Syrian Negotiations. Princeton University Press. p. 28. ISBN   978-1-4008-2265-2 . Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  14. ↑ Ehteshami, Anoushiravan; Hinnebusch, Raymond (2002). Syria and Iran: Middle Powers in a Penetrated Regional System. Taylor & Francis. pp. 160–161. ISBN   978-1-134-73021-6 . Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  15. ↑ Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Golan Heights Law.
  16. ↑ Rabinowitz, Dan (28 March 2012). "17: Identity, the State and Borderline Disorder". In Thomas M. Wilson and Hastings Donnan (ed.). A Companion to Border Studies. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 307–308. ISBN   978-1-118-25525-4.
  17. ↑ Council on Foreign Relations. UN Security Council Resolution 497.
  18. ↑ Benvenisti, E. (2012). The International Law of Occupation. OUP Oxford. ISBN   978-0-19-163957-9 . Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  19. 1 2 3 Korman, Sharon (31 October 1996), The Right of Conquest: The Acquisition of Territory by Force in International Law and Practice, Oxford University Press, pp. 262–264, ISBN   9780191583803
  20. ↑ Roberts, Adam (January 1990). "Prolonged Military Occupation: The Israeli-Occupied Territories Since 1967". American Journal of International Law . 84 (1): 60. doi:10.2307/2203016. JSTOR   2203016.
  21. ↑ Pileggi, Tamar; Winer, Stuart; Newman, Marissa; Bachner, Michael (28 March 2019). "US redrawing official maps to include Golan as part of Israel". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  22. ↑ "Trump recognizes Golan Heights as Israeli, boosting Netanyahu and angering Syria". Reuters. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  23. ↑ "U.N. chief clear that Golan status has not changed: spokesman". 25 March 2019 – via www.reuters.com.
  24. ↑ Fassihi, Farnaz (28 March 2019). "Security Council Denounces Trump's Golan Decision". WSJ. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  25. ↑ "Trump formally recognises Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
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