Israel Approves Troop Withdrawal from Disputed Village on Lebanese Border

The Israeli security cabinet has approved a plan to withdraw troops from the northern part of the disputed village of Ghajar on the Lebanese border and hand over control of the area to UN peacekeepers. This decision is in line with a UN Security Council resolution, but it is likely to face hostile reaction from local residents who consider themselves Syrians. The village has been under Israeli rule since the Jewish state's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, and the residents have been protesting against the withdrawal, demanding that the village remain whole and that the debate on it be part of a peace agreement with Syria stipulating the return of the Golan Heights.

Key Takeaways:

• The Israeli security cabinet has approved a plan to withdraw troops from the northern part of Ghajar village on the Lebanese border.
• The decision is in line with a UN Security Council resolution, but it is likely to face hostile reaction from local residents who consider themselves Syrians.
• The village has been under Israeli rule since the Jewish state's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, and the residents have been protesting against the withdrawal.
• The residents demand that the village remain whole and that the debate on it be part of a peace agreement with Syria stipulating the return of the Golan Heights.
• Ghajar village has around 2,200 residents, almost all of them from the Druze community.
• The international border between Israel and Lebanon runs through the middle of the village of Ghajar.
• The villagers were Syrian nationals when Israel occupied the region, but they took Israeli nationality when the Golan was annexed.
• Syria maintains that Israel must return the whole of Golan Heights to them in any peace deal.

Statistics:

• 2,200: The number of residents in Ghajar village.
• 1967: The year when Ghajar came under Israeli control in the Middle East war.
• 1981: The year when the Jewish state annexed Ghajar.
• 2000: The year when the United Nations demarcated the border, and Ghajar's northern half was allocated to Lebanese control.
• 2006: The year of the Lebanon war, when Israel retaken Ghajar's northern half.

Sources:

• PTI, Jerusalem, November 17, 2010.