(Government Press Office)
Jerusalem, 8 February 1994
Note: Population figures have been updated for December 1997.
The area in the north which came under Israeli control as a result of the
1967 Six Day War, and popularly referred to as the 'Golan Heights', is
actually composed of two geologically distinct areas (divided by Nahal
Sa'ar): the Golan Heights proper (1,070 sq. km.) and the slopes of the Mt.
Hermon range (approx. 100 sq. km.).
GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, AND NATURAL HISTORY
While the Mt. Hermon range is mostly limestone, the Golan Heights proper
are mostly basalt and other types of volcanic rock. The Heights are a
plateau that drops off to the west, to the Jordan River and Lake Kinneret
(in the Syrian-African Rift Valley), and to the south, to the Yarmuk
River. The plateau is crossed by a number of seasonal streams which run
through sometimes very deep valleys and which all flow west into the
Jordan or the Lake. The Golan proper may be divided into three regions:
northern (between Nahals Sa'ar and Gilabon), central (between Nahals
Gilabon and Dilayot), and southern (between Nahal Dilayot and the Yarmuk
valley).
The northern Golan has double the average rainfall of the south and often
receives snow in the winter, as does the Mt. Hermon area. Hydrologically,
nearly all of the Golan lies within the basin of Lake Kinneret which
supplies 30% of Israel's water needs. Two of the Jordan River's three main
sources, the Dan and Hatzbani Rivers, rise on the slopes of Mt. Hermon, in
addition to the many seasonal streams that rise on the Heights and flow
into the Lake, either directly or via the Jordan. In 1964, Syria sought to
implement a plan to divert the sources of the Jordan and prevent their
waters from reaching Israel. This provoked a series of border incidents;
the Syrian plan was ultimately thwarted by IDF operations in the spring of
1965.
In ancient and classical times, the Golan was heavily forested (see
Ezekiel 27:5-6). Small remnants of these forests survive today near Odem
and Mt. Avital in the north, and Yehudiya in the central Golan. Half of
Israel's mammal and reptile species are found on the Heights, as are all
of its amphibians.
HISTORY
The area was referred to in biblical times as 'Bashan'; the word 'Golan'
apparently derives from the biblical city of, 'Golan in Bashan,'
(Deuteronomy 4:43). The area was assigned to the half-tribe of Manasseh;
in early First Temple times (953-586 BCE), the area was contested between
the northern kingdom of Israel and the Aramean kingdom based in Damascus.
In the late 6th and early 5th centuries BCE, the Heights were settled by
returning Jewish exiles from Babylon.
In the mid 2nd century BCE, Judah Maccabee and his brothers came to the
aid of the local Jewish communities when the latter came under attack by
their neighbors (I Maccabees 5). The Hasmonean King Alexander Jannai
(103-76 BCE) added the Heights to his kingdom. The Greeks called the area
'Gaulanitis', a name also adopted by the Romans, which led to the current
application of the term 'Golan' to the entire area. Gamla became the
Golan's chief city and was the last Jewish stronghold to hold out against
the Roman legions in the Great Revolt, falling in the year 67 (see
Josephus, The Jewish War, Chap. 13, Penguin Edition). Despite the failure
of the Revolt, Jewish settlement continued and even flourished; the
remains of no less than 25 synagogues from the period between the Revolt
and the Islamic conquest (636) have been excavated. (There was also
Byzantine settlement on the Heights; several monasteries from this period
have been excavated.) The decisive battle in which the Arabs, under Caliph
Omar, crushed the Byzantines, led by Emperor Heraclius, and established
Islamic control over what is now Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, was
fought in the Yarmuk Valley, on the southern edge of the Heights, in 636.
Organized Jewish settlement on the Golan came to an end at this time.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Druze began to settle in the northern
Golan and on the slopes of Mt. Hermon. During the brief period of Egyptian
rule (1831-1840) and in the following decades, a number of different
groups settled on the Heights: Sudanese, Algerians, Kurds, Turkomans, and
Arabs from Samaria. The Turks brought in Circassians in the 1870's.
The Jewish presence on the Golan was renewed in 1886, when the B'nei
Yehuda society of Safed purchased a plot of land four kilometers north of
the present-day religious moshav of Keshet, but the settlement established
there failed after one year. In 1887, the society purchased lands between
modern-day B'nei Yehuda and Kibbutz Ein Gev. This settlement lasted until
1920, when two of its last members were murdered in the anti-Jewish riots
that broke out in the spring of that year. In 1891, Baron Rothschild
purchased approximately 18,000 acres of land, about 15 km. east of Ramat
Magshimim, in what is now Syria. First Aliyah (1881-1903) immigrants
settled on these lands, but were forced to leave by the Turks in 1898. The
lands were farmed until 1947, when they were seized by the Syrian army.
The Golan Heights were included within Mandatory Palestine, when the
Mandate was formally granted in 1922, but Britain gave the area to France
in the Franco-British Agreement of 7 March 1923.
After the War of Independence (1948), the Syrians built extensive
fortifications on the Heights. They used these to systematically shell
civilian targets in Israel and to launch terrorist attacks; 140 Israelis
were killed and many more injured as a result of these actions between
1948 and 1967. In the 1967 Six Day War, in response to Syrian attacks, the
IDF captured the Golan Heights in just over 24 hours of hard fighting on
June 9-10. Nearly all of the Golan's Arab inhabitants fled as a result of
the war; four Druze villages remain, three on the slopes of Mt. Hermon and
one in the northern Golan. There is also a small Sunni Muslim village at
Wassif.
The renewal of Jewish settlement on the Heights began almost immediately
after the war. The kibbutz of Merom Golan was founded in July 1967, and by
1970, there were 12 Jewish communities on the Golan. On 6 October 1973,
Syrian forces attacked across the 1967 cease-fire line, and made their
greatest gains in the central Golan, almost reaching the escarpment,
before being pushed back beyond the 1967 line by the main Israeli
counterattack that began on the morning of 8 October. A Separation of
Forces Agreement was signed between Israel and Syria on 31 May 1974 and
remains in force.
THE GOLAN HEIGHTS TODAY
Druze/Muslim Sector:
There are approximately 17,700 Druze and Muslim inhabitants on the Golan
Heights today. In contrast to 1948-1967, when civilian infrastructure and
services were almost completely neglected by successive Syrian
governments, Israel has invested substantial sums in either installing or
upgrading electric and water systems, in agricultural improvements and job
training, and in building health clinics, where none had existed
previously. The inhabitants also enjoy the benefits of Israel's welfare
and social security systems. Israel has built or refurbished schools and
classrooms and extended compulsory education from seven years to ten and
has made secondary education available to girls for the first time. The
Golan's Druze and Muslim residents enjoy complete freedom of worship; the
Israeli authorities have made financial contributions, tax and customs
rebates, etc. to the local religious establishments.
Jewish Sector:
Today, there are approximately 14,300 Jewish residents in 31 communities
on the Golan Heights and the slopes of Mt. Hermon. These include
kibbutzim, moshavim, and the town of Katzrin.
Economy:
The economy is based on both agriculture and industry, including tourism.
36,000 dunams of land are under cultivation, producing a wide variety of
crops, including wine grapes. A further 40,000 dunams are given over to
natural pasturage. The Golan supports 20,000 head of cattle and sheep for
meat production and a further 3,500 head for dairy production. There are
approximately 30 industrial enterprises on the Golan, mostly concentrated
in the Katzrin Industrial Zone. There is a substantial tourist
infrastructure on the Golan, including the ski site on Mt. Hermon,
bed-and- breakfast/guest room facilities at 11 settlements, three Society
for the Protection of Nature Field Schools, and restaurants. There are
also facilities for jeep and bicycle tours, as well as horseback riding.
Israel has established extensive nature reserves on the Heights and the
Golan Museum is in Katzrin.