BICOM

What has Israel decided?

• On 17 November Israel’s Security Cabinet decided to order, in principle, the IDF withdrawal from the northern part of Ghajar, and its redeployment south of the internationally recognised Israel-Lebanon border.
• Israel’s Foreign Ministry will coordinate in the coming weeks with the UN International Force in Lebanon to finalise the details of the new deployment.

What is Ghajar?

• The village of Ghajar is located on the pre-1967 border between Lebanon and Syria, very close to Israel. Lebanese officials refer to Ghajar as ‘occupied Lebanese territory’, but the Alawite community that lives there sees itself as Syrian.
• In the 1967 Six Day War the village came under Israeli control when Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria. Ghajar was annexed to Israel along with the rest of the Golan in 1981 and its residents were offered full Israeli citizenship.
• From 1982 until 2000, Israel maintained a security zone in southern Lebanon, and Ghajar’s location facilitated close economic ties between its residents and Lebanese communities.
• After Israel withdrew all its forces from southern Lebanon in May 2000, the UN embarked on a cartographic project to define the Israeli line of withdrawal. In demarcating the border between Israel and Lebanon, known as the ‘Blue Line’, the UN team decided to partition Ghajar, leaving its southern neighbourhood within the Israeli controlled area and placing its northern neighbourhood within Lebanon.
• Prior to 2006, the northern portion of the village was considered a serious security problem, used for militant and criminal activity on the part of Hezbollah and drug traffickers. In November 2005, Hezbollah tried to kidnap Israeli soldiers in the area, but the attempt was foiled and IDF troops killed four Hezbollah fighters.

Why is Ghajar being discussed now?

• During the 2006 Second Lebanon War Israel retook control over the northern section of Ghajar. Since then, the village has been at the centre of international dispute over its fate. UN Resolution 1701, which ended the war, required Israel to withdraw from the northern section of Ghajar.
• So far, Israel has maintained presence in northern Ghajar to minimize the security threat and criminal activity. Without this presence, it will be extremely difficult to ensure security along the border without completely severing the two sides of the village, a solution the residents of Ghajar strongly object to.
• Until now, Israel was reluctant to rely on UN security presence in the northern part of Ghajar because of the repeated failures by the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to operate effectively against Hezbollah activity in southern Lebanon. According to the new agreement, UNIFIL will not deploy in the village due to Hezbollah’s objection to UN presence in populated areas, but will maintain presence in the areas surrounding the village on the Lebanese side.
• Many of Ghajar’s residents hold Israeli citizenship and the village depends on Israel for daily services, electricity, water and other basic needs. Residents have publicly opposed Israel’s withdrawal, which they fear will split the community and place significant constraints on their daily lives.

What is Israel’s withdrawal proposal?

• Intensive negotiations between Israel and the UN have reached an agreement that will allow Israeli forces to withdraw from northern Ghajar while ensuring that the residents of those areas, many of whom are Israeli citizens, will continue to receive vital services.
• The new agreement will restore the pre-2006 status quo. Neither UNIFIL nor the IDF will have presence in northern Ghajar. The IDF will be deployed in southern Ghajar and UNIFIL will be based outside the northern portion of the village, inside Lebanon.
• Negotiations between UNIFIL and Israel’s Foreign Ministry will continue in the coming weeks until the details of a security arrangements have been agreed.