+Israel © MEA-20180314 (C5–) History of Israel -Golan Heights
History of Israel -Golan Heights
The Golan Heights or otherwise called the Golan is an area of land, a rocky plateau located on the east and north sides of the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) in the far North of Israel. Its borders are Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan. Israel maintains control of this 1,800 square kilometre area in a defensive role to stop enemy attack-rockets on its citizens which had been coming from the Golan. The Golan is 65km from North to South and averages about 20km from East to West. Despite its size, the Golan is very important, as it supplies Israel with over a third of its water.
Historically, many significant battles have been fought in this area—and the barbed-wire shown in the picture above is evidence of a more recent battle, Israel’s Six-Day War in 1967. In 1981 Israeli forces captured this part of the Golan from Syria and continue to monitor the area. After the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli War, the Golan was partly demilitarised by the Israel-Syria Armistice Agreement, and over the years, has proved to be an area of continuing violence as the agreement is broken by both sides due to disagreement over the legal status of the demilitarised zone (DMZ), cultivation of land within it and competition over water resources.
According to the Book of Deuteronomy in the Bible, the Amorite king Og of Bashan was conquered by the Israelites coming out from Egypt around the 12th-13th Century B.C.E. Throughout the Old Testament period, the Golan was the focus of a power struggle between the Kings of Israel and the Aramaeans who were based near modern-day Damascus. In the 16th century, the Golan was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and was part of the Vilayet of Damascus until it was transferred to French control in 1918. When the mandate terminated in 1946, it became part of the newly independent Syrian Arab Republic.
The Golan is home to some of Israel’s most stunning and beautiful landscapes, far removed from the big cities and towns in the rest of the country, where. Its abundant water resource has created green landscapes and picturesque water-features, including Israel’s spectacular Saar Falls and The Banias Waterfall.
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