Israel's_Views_on_the_Territories

As I have explored through this project, certain territories are strategically important for Israel to keep. For instance, it would be moronic to give the Palestinians a high and strategic place like the Golan Heights. Furthermore, places like Jerusalem are of historic significance to the Jews. In fact, it would be impractical to give up Jerusalem in general. Certain territories are too logistically difficult to give up and to dismantle their populations would be a nightmare. For Israel, relinquishing the Golan to a hostile Syria could jeopardize its early-warning system against surprise attacks. Israel has built radars on Mt. Hermon, the highest point in the region. If Israel withdrew from the Golan and had to relocate these facilities to the lowlands of the Galilee, they would lose much of their strategic effectiveness. The Golan Heights are significant to the security and welfare of Israel for these reasons: The Golan Heights were captured from Syria in 1967 as a valuable military asset. Prior to 1967, Israelis living in the valleys below the Golan Heights suffered rocket fire and terrorist attacks from Syria for more than a dozen years. The Golan Heights are strategically important for several reasons. Firstly, Israel's presence in the Golan Heights provides a defensible border against invasion by land. Additionally, all of northern Israel is within range of direct artillery fire from the Golan Heights; The Heights control the main water sources of the State of Israel. The Golan Heights has been under Israeli law, jurisdiction, and administration since 1981. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Syrian forces overran much of the southern Golan before being pushed back by an Israeli counterattack. Israel and Syria signed a ceasefire agreement in 1974 that left almost all of the Golan Heights in Israeli control, while returning a narrow demilitarized zone to Syrian control. In addition, the topography of the Golan serves as a natural blockade against any military attack from Syria. The Golan is essentially, one high-altitude plateau that overlooks southern Syria and serves as an excellent vantage point for Israel to keep track of Syrian military movements. Advances in ballistic technology in recent years have increased the importance of keeping control of this strategic high ground and maintaining geographic depth. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, control of the eastern mountain ridge of the Golan helped 177 Israeli tanks to repel 1,400 Syrian tanks. The Sea of Galilee borders the southwestern Golan and provides one-third of Israel's fresh water supply. In 1964, the Syrians attempted to impair Israeli access to fresh water through a damming project, which the Israel Defense Forces ultimately thwarted. Israel has utilized the fertility of the Golan landscape to enrich and expand Israel's agricultural sector. About 40 percent of Israeli beef, 30 percent of Israeli fruit and 38 percent of Israeli wine exports come from the Golan, therefore, it can once again be viewed as an essential territory for Israel to possess. Possession of the Golan puts the IDF within easy striking range of Damascus. This contributes to Israeli deterrence against Syria. If deterrence fails and war occurs again, Israel's Golan position enables it to mount spoiling attacks against likely staging areas. And its proximity to Damascus can help deter especially heinous actions -- for example, missile attacks on Israel's cities. The Golan highlands are a major watershed. In that arid region with its growing population increasing the demand for water, control of water resources can have strategic consequences. The significance of this point is often overlooked in military and political analyses, especially those not produced locally. Control of the Golan permits control of Lake Kinneret (the "Sea of Galilee"), which supplies roughly thirty percent of Israel's consumption. Jerusalem is also a territory that is crucial to Israel. Jerusalem is only 9 miles away from Tel-Aviv and keeping it serves a buffer zone to keep Tel Aviv safe. In addition, Jerusalem is located in the center of the country and serves as a perfect place to keep military centered from. Jerusalem is also close to the Dead Sea as well which is a major supply of salt for the country. Jerusalem also bears an enormous amount of religious significance to the Jewish people. Although Muslims will argue that it is important to them as well, this is a rare situation in which Israel must simply stick with telling them “tough luck”. Israel must put its foot down because it bears the most importance to the Jews. The position my group explored contributes to the long-term establishment of peace for Israel by satisfying the Muslims and being civil by giving them some land. Meanwhile, we are keeping areas crucial to our security and safety. In essence, I believe that in order to have a stable and peaceful state, we must keep some of the territories and give others away for peace treaties. It is shown through the history with the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza strip that giving some territories away will help achieve peace between Jews and Arabs. Giving away part of the West Bank to the Palestinians and keeping part of the West Bank and the Golan Heights as a strategic method to protect ourselves during wartime. My group decided to also keep East Jerusalem to protect the sanctity and holiness of our state. Jerusalem would be the central city of the Jewish nation and be the capital city of Israel. Many Israelis want peace and not war; therefore, they would support our strategic method of distribution and annexing of certain territories. The International ramifications are minimal because we are literally pleasing both sides.