"Let Sleeping Dogs Lie:" On Ghajar and Other Anomalies in the Syria-Lebanon-Israel Tri-Border Region

This article argues that the partition of the village of Ghajar between Israel and Lebanon by the Israeli Line of Withdrawal, as determined by the United Nations in 2000, was based on historical and cartographical errors. It demonstrates that the entire village was controlled by Syria until the June 1967 war when Israel occupied it along with the Golan Heights. The article shows that the entire pre-1967 tri-border region of Syria, Lebanon, and Israel suffered from border irregularities that remained dormant until 2000. Finally, the article argues that Ghajar should remain united, pending a Syrian-Israeli peace deal that theoretically would return the Golan Heights to Syria and include Ghajar in its entirety.