Why the Golan Heights Matter to Israel, Syria and Trump

(Bloomberg) -- It’s a piece of high ground in one of the most conflict-prone places on Earth. That’s made the Golan Heights a focus of global dispute since Israel seized it from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War. The U.S., like the rest of the world, had refrained from accepting Israel’s claim to the strategically important territory. But U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Israeli sovereignty there March 25 in a ceremony in Washington alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

1. What is the Golan Heights?

Located in the southwest tip of Syria, the Golan heights covers about 1,800 square kilometers (700 square miles), with about two-thirds under Israel’s control. The Golan shares a border with Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, and its rocky plateau towers over the Israeli valley to the west. When Syria controlled the high ground, its military regularly used it to shell Israeli communities below. Israel’s possession of the territory gives its military a clear view of southern Syria all the way to the capital, Damascus, 60 kilometers (40 miles) away, enabling it to monitor troop movements. The Golan offers fertile land — Israelis grow grapes there for wine — and an important source of water.

2. Why does Israel control it?

Israel wrested control of the territory in the 1967 war, in which it fought the Arab states of Egypt, Syria and Jordan, all of which had rejected the establishment of a Jewish state in 1948. Israel also captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt. In 1981, under Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Israel annexed the Golan Heights, a move not recognized internationally.

3. What is Syria’s position?

Syria wants the territory back. Beginning in the 1990s it periodically engaged in direct or indirect negotiations under which Israel would return part or all of its Golan holdings in return for a peace treaty with Syria. Such talks came to a halt with the Arab uprisings of 2011 that led to a bloody civil war in Syria and all but eradicated any Israeli willingness to place the Assad regime on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

4. Who lives there now?

Many residents of the heights fled the Israeli conquerors in 1967; today, the government says more than 40,000 people live in the Golan. About half were residents before the 1967 war or are their descendants -- a majority of them members of the Druze faith -- including many who have refused Israeli citizenship. The other half are Jewish settlers who have moved in since Israel captured the territory.

5. Why is the Golan coming up now?

Trump tweeted his intention earlier in March to recognize Israeli control over the territory, formalizing it with an executive order March 25. The move is seen as a boon for Netanyahu, who is facing possible indictment for bribery and a tough re-election battle against former military chief Benny Gantz in an April 9 vote. It could be an effort to take one issue off the table as Trump prepares to release his Middle East peace plan. Or, it might be an attempt to foreclose discussion of the Golan’s return to Syria as the civil war winds down. At the same time, Trump, a Republican, has been appealing to U.S. Jewish voters -- the religious group least likely to support Trump, according to a 2018 Gallup survey -- to rethink their preference for the Democratic Party.

6. How did others react?

Nations around the world expressed outrage over an action they said contravened international law. Palestine Liberation Organization Secretary General Saeb Erekat said the move would lead to “bloodshed” and destabilization. Syria condemned it as a “blatant assault” on the country’s unity, while Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, rejected and denounced it. Russia, whose intervention in Syria turned the war there in the government’s favor, said it would never recognize the territory as part of Israel and said the move aimed to split the Arab world. European allies said their position on the territory remained unchanged.

The Reference Shelf

• A BBC profile of the Golan Heights.
• An article in Foreign Affairs looks at water’s role in the territorial dispute.
• In Bloomberg Opinion, columnists argue for and against U.S. recognition of Israel’s claims to the Golan Heights.
• Related QuickTakes on Jewish settlements and the U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ivan Levingston in Jerusalem at ilevingston@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Lisa Beyer, Michael S. Arnold

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.