Ghajar
Ghajar (also Ghajar or al-Ghajar , Arabic غجر, DMG Ġaǧar , Hebrew ע'ג'ר) is a town with around 2500 inhabitants, the northern half of which is in Lebanon , while the southern half is part of the Golan Heights . It is located just a few kilometers west of the controversial Shebaa farms and a few kilometers east of Bint Jubail , the "capital of Hezbollah ". In 1932, the French mandate administration gave the residents, who are predominantly Alawites , the choice of determining the affiliation of the place after the division of the mandate into Lebanon and Syria . The residents decided in favor of Syria, where this religious group constitutes a significant minority. After the victory of the Israeli army against the Syrians in the Six Day War of 1967, the village fell under Israeli control. During the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon between 1978 and 2000, the place on Lebanese territory was expanded to the north.
After the Israelis withdrew in 2000, the Blue Line ran right through the town, with around three-fifths of the town being in Lebanon and the rest under Israeli administration. Both sides could not agree on which side the village should fall and as a result the village was divided. A fence was erected along the border, and the passages monitored by Israeli soldiers allowed residents to get from one side to the other. Many of the residents of Ghajar on both sides of the border fence work in Israel and are Israeli citizens. Before the 2006 Lebanon War, the local residents had almost no contact with the surrounding Lebanese towns. In 2005, Hezbollah militants occupied the place but were pushed back by the Israeli army.
After the ceasefire began, Israeli units erected a second fence that separates the northern half of the town in Lebanon from the Lebanese surroundings. Even after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon on October 1, IDF soldiers are still there, and the Lebanese government sees this as a violation of UN Security Council resolution 1701 . She fears that the situation will lead to future clashes between Hezbollah and Israel.
On November 17, 2010, Israel's government spokesman Mark Regev announced that Israel would withdraw from the part of the town north of the Blue Line. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised this to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon . A date for the eviction has not yet been published; Israel will clarify the details with UNIFIL.
swell
- A New Fence Is Added to a Border Town Already Split , The New York Times, October 11, 2006
- Israel withdraws from Lebanon border village , Der Standard dated November 17, 2010
Coordinates: 33 ° 16 ' N , 35 ° 37' E