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Shebaa Farms is a disputed area consisting of 14 farms located south of Shebaa, a Lebanese village on the western slopes of Mount Hermon, at the corner where Syria, Lebanon and Israel meet. It is about 14 km in length and 2 km in width, at altitudes of 400 to 2,000 meters. This fertile farm land produces barley, fruits and vegetables. The village of Shebaa is not part of the Shebaa Farms area.The region remained under Israeli control after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah leaders and the Lebanese government considers the Shebaa Farms to be part of Lebanon. Israel considers the Shebaa Farms to be part of the Golan Heights. Syrian authorities consider Shebaa Farms as part of Lebanon in contradiction to the 1949 Armistice Agreements.
Israel took control of Shebaa Farms during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, in which Syria but not Lebanon took part, and says the area is not covered by United Nations UN Security Council Resolution 425 that governs its withdrawal from southern Lebanon. This resolution asks for Israel to withdraw from Lebanon according to the line its forces were positioned at before the May 14 1978 invasion. (See: Blue Line (Lebanon))
The United Nations Security Council has accepted a report from the Secretary-General, Kofi AnnanKofi Atta Annan (born April 8, 1938) is the seventh and current Secretary-General of the United Nations. Biography Early years and family Annan was born to Henry Reginald and Victoria Annan on April 8, 1938, in Kumasi, Ghana. His given name means "born on, that the Israeli army has withdrawn from all Lebanese territory. However, the UN has not ruled on the border, though its position would imply that the Shebaa Farms is not Lebanese:
- "The United Nations has not been delineating or demarcating the border between Lebanon and Israel - or between Lebanon and Syria for that matter. Border demarcation is something that can only be done between States. - But it was necessary for the UN to mark a withdrawal line on the ground - the so-called "blue line". Otherwise, how could we know whether or not the Israelis had withdrawn?" - Kofi AnnanKofi Atta Annan (born April 8, 1938) is the seventh and current Secretary-General of the United Nations. Biography Early years and family Annan was born to Henry Reginald and Victoria Annan on April 8, 1938, in Kumasi, Ghana. His given name means "born on, 19 June 2000This page is about the year 2000. See 2000 AD for the UK comic book, Number 2000 for other uses. 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar), and also the International Year for a Culture of Peace''. Events Y2K passes without the seri (unofficial transcript)
- "There seems to be no official record of an international boundary agreement between Lebanon and Syria that could easily establish the line for purposes of confirming the withdrawal," Kofi AnnanKofi Atta Annan (born April 8, 1938) is the seventh and current Secretary-General of the United Nations. Biography Early years and family Annan was born to Henry Reginald and Victoria Annan on April 8, 1938, in Kumasi, Ghana. His given name means "born on 25 May 2000This page is about the year 2000. See 2000 AD for the UK comic book, Number 2000 for other uses. 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar), and also the International Year for a Culture of Peace''. Events Y2K passes without the seri [1]
- "Mr Annan has proposed that all sides should adopt the line drawn after the 1974 Yom Kippur war, pending a permanent delineation of the border." [2]
- "The UN is saying that on all maps the UN has been able to find, the farms are seen on the Syrian side." Timur Goksel, spokesman for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) [3]
Lebanon and Syria regard this UN certification of the withdrawal as invalid because of Lebanon's claim to the Shebaa Farms.
However, Lebanese and Syrian officials insisted that Syria had officially granted the area of Shebaa Farms to Lebanon in 1951. Lebanese officials point to land deeds, stamped by the Lebanese government, held by a number of residents in the area.
Syria has officially acknowledged the Farms are Lebanese.
Lebanese army maps published in 1961 and 1966 specifically show several of the Shebaa Farms (including Zebdine, Fashkoul, Mougr Shebaa and Ramta) as being on the Syrian side of the border. Lebanese Ministry of Tourism maps also show the Lebanese-Syrian border running west of the Shebaa Farms, which would place Shebaa Farms to the east of the border and therefore within Syria. (See map in body of article)
Nonetheless, the United Nations states:
- "On 15 May 2000, the United Nations received a map, dated 1966, from the Government of Lebanon which reflected the Government's position that these farmlands were located in Lebanon. However, the United Nations is in possession of 10 other maps issued after 1966 by various Lebanese government institutions, including the Ministry of Defense and the army, all of which place the farmlands inside the Syrian Arab Republic. The United Nations has also examined six maps issued by the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, including three maps since 1966, which place the farmlands inside the Syrian Arab Republic." UN Document S/2000/460
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