Syria and Lebanon

Background

Syria and Lebanon are Israel's neighbors to the north. In an assessment of the current state and direction of the Middle East peace process, it is almost a necessity to consider these two nations together. Although Lebanon has long been an independent state, it is generally acknowledged that the government in Beirut is very much under the control of Syria. Lebanon is very weak militarily; any agreement it makes with Israel would necessarily be the product of Israel's negotiations with the more potent Syrian government. Also, it is important to note that Syrian-sponsored terrorism never enters Israel from the Syrian border. Instead, much of this activity comes directly from Lebanon, and only indirectly from Syria. Lebanon, unlike Syria, is a follower, not a leader, in Middle East politics. Still, it is not only for reasons of power that Syria and Lebanon are inextricably linked. Historically, Lebanon was part of Syria, and the modern country was carved out of the short-lived Kingdom of Greater Syria. Syria and Lebanon share a common culture.

When Syria and Lebanon were French colonies and Palestine was British, the British traded the Golan Heights to the French in exchange for territory in present-day Jordan. Syria then took control of the Heights when it gained its independence. Until 1967, Syria controlled the Golan and frequently attacked Israelis in the valley below using the strategic advantage of the heights. During the Six Day War, Syria attacked Israel after the Israelis launched a preemptive strike on Egypt. Israel took control of the Heights, and they have held them since. In 1973, Syria attacked the Israeli positions on the Golan Heights, but Israel held the territory and made it as far as the suburbs of Damascus. After a UN-sponsored truce finalized in 1974, a demilitarized zone was established between Israeli and Syrian positions on the Heights. The border has been quiet since then.

Until the early 1970s, Lebanon was ruled by its Christian minority and generally had good relations with Israel. However, after Jordan expelled its militant Palestinians, they went to Lebanon where the delicate balance between Christians and Muslims quickly evaporated. A Civil War began which destroyed the country and left a power vacuum filled by the Syrian Army. To prevent PLO terrorist attacks from the north in the late 1970s, Israel occupied a small zone in Southern Lebanon but withdrew soon after. The attacks continued, and in 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon. The IDF pushed as far as Beirut, but later withdrew to the security zone which it occupies today. Israel has a few thousand soldiers in Lebanon working with about twice as many Southern Lebanon Army Christian militiamen. Hizbollah, a Muslim fundamentalist group supported by Iran and Syria, is the main military opposition to the Israeli presence.

Recent years have seen an intense continuation of the Israel-Syria/Lebanon conflict. On November 29th of this year, Netanyahu explained Israel's continued presence in Lebanon when he declared, "As long as we have no way to leave Lebanon in an arrangement to safeguard the north, we will stay in Lebanon with the main goal of defending our soldiers, reducing harm to them, and increasing damage to Hizbollah."

Goals

Syria has consistently demanded that Israel give them the Golan Heights in return for a peace agreement. There is much disagreement in Israel about this because many Israelis feel an attachment to the Golan. Some argue that their strategic importance make them indispensable while others insist that new military technologies make them irrelevant. Syria insists that Israel agree to return the Golan before coming to the negotiating table, but Israel wants to negotiate "with no preconditions."

Both the Syrians and the Lebanese are concerned with the Palestinians and encourage the move towards Palestinian self-determination. Both nations are home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees (there are more than 250,000 in Syria alone). Syria and Lebanon are looking for a fair treatment of the Palestinians in Israel and even the possible movement of much of their own Palestinian populations into any newly created Palestinian state.

The Lebanese consider the withdrawal of the Israeli troops a high priority. In the past, the Israelis have expressed a willingness to leave Lebanon on the conditions that Hizbollah be restrained and Israel's South Lebanon Army militia be safeguarded. However, Syria (which has 35,000 troops in Lebanon) and Lebanon have insisted that the withdrawal be unconditional.

The Syrians and the Lebanese have definite aims for any peace agreement. Again, the most important of these is the unconditional return of the Golan Heights. Though this is not a Lebanese issue in itself, the government in Beirut must continue to wait until Syria achieves an agreement with Israel for it to do so.