Israel and Lebanon 's Fighting Over the Shebaa Farms

 Nadene Goldfoot                                           

Both Israel and Lebanon are teeny states, so any amount of land is very important to them.  They have been fighting over a small patch, the Sheba (Shabaa) Farms, located at the intersection of the Lebanese-Syrian border and the Israeli-Golan Heights.  It's about 7 miles long and 2 miles wide.  

Where England held the mandate over Palestine, France held their mandate over Lebanon.  The French and later their own Lebanese and Syrian governments failed to demarcate the border between Lebanon and Syria.  Their 6 Day war against Israel in 1967 led to Israel winning the Golan Heights and annexed it in 1981, and Syria was the de facto ruling power.  In 1978, Israel won southern Lebanon and in 1981 the Golan Heights including the Shebaa Farms which Israel annexed.  Of course, Israel,  constantly attacked by their neighbors, winning the land from being attacked and then successful,  was not defended by other nations, and only the USA recognized the annexation.  

Violent attacks on Israel since they withdrew from Lebanon in May 2000 have happened.  The UN studied the situation and could find no evidence that the abandoned farm belonged to Lebanon  Fighting has continued over the land during 2000-06 and early in August 2015.  

Hezbollah launched an ambush on January 28 against Israel's military convoy in the Shebaa Farms against 2 Israeli Humvees patrolling the border.  2 Israelis were killed and 7 were wounded.  This was in response, Hezbollah said, to their Hezbollah and Iranian officers attacked in their military convoy on January 18, 2015 at Quneitra in Syria.  The Israel-Hezbollah conflict ended after UNIFIL mediation.                                    

Today, Trump's election campaign has caused talks to take place on this Israel-Lebanon controversy over sea and land disputes after he gained the UAE-Bahrain ties with Israel.

                                                         

On the table is an agreement with a land border marked by the Blue Line Since 2011, except that land of the Shabaa Farms.  Lebanon is receptive to it in principle, but stopped by their failure to form a government.  

Since January 2020, their government is made up mostly of Hezbollah terrorists.  "There are two major political coalitions in Lebanon: March 8 and March 14. The first most notably includes former Prime Minister Saad Hariri‘s Sunni-led party, and the latter includes Iran’s backed Hezbollah movement and its allies.  This is not what the people expected.  

The deal for a new cabinet came after an agreement by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, a major parliamentary bloc, and its allies including the Free Patriotic Movement led by Gibran Bassil, President Michel Aoun’s son-in-law.  Notice that Iran backs the terrorism and it is they who want to destroy and bring to an end of Israel.  

Lebanon, being just across the border, has also been a home for many Jews.  The Torah refers to the Cedars of Lebanon that were used in building the 1st Temple when Solomon had good relations with King Hiram of Lebanon.  Even by 1944, there were 6,261 Jews living there.  After 1948, Syrian Jews moved there.  By 1964, 5,000-7,000 Jews still lived there.  1975 was the year of a Lebanon Civil War when the 1,000 remaining Jews finally left and by 1990 less than 100 remained. 

Resource:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebaa_farms

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox/FMfcgxwJXxxhDJMGfKtKvVFHKwBWPWJM

https://www.factsandlogic.org/israel-owns-the-golan-heights-time-u-s-and-world-to-recognize-it/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwzbv7BRDIARIsAM-A6-3QUjuXiIt-Iq0fNIOHLOAMm7YgDx_Wg0uY5Awbw91ygdHDAD1qGdUaAnoIEALw_wcB

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2020/1/22/hezbollah-a-major-architect-of-lebanons-new-government