A Lebanese flag flies over the village of Chebaa on July 23, 2025, facing the farms of the same name, which are occupied by Israel and claimed by Lebanon. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L’Orient-Le Jour)
Before concluding his latest visit to Lebanon, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack broached the thorny issue of the Shebaa Farms during a press briefing, saying, "What are they fighting over? I didn’t understand and I still don’t totally get it." This piece of the Syrian Golan, annexed by Israel, is contested by Damascus, Beirut and Tel Aviv, and has long served as a pretext for Hezbollah to maintain its arsenal — arguing that the liberation of southern Lebanon remained incomplete without these 20 or so square kilometers. Dig deeper To whom do Shebaa Farms belong? While the proposed American road map initially aimed to strip Hezbollah of that 'excuse' by demarcating Lebanon’s borders with both Syria and Israel, Barrack appeared to shift course last week. He called for the "land of no value" to be exchanged in a bilateral deal between Beirut and...
Before concluding his latest visit to Lebanon, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack broached the thorny issue of the Shebaa Farms during a press briefing, saying, "What are they fighting over? I didn’t understand and I still don’t totally get it." This piece of the Syrian Golan, annexed by Israel, is contested by Damascus, Beirut and Tel Aviv, and has long served as a pretext for Hezbollah to maintain its arsenal — arguing that the liberation of southern Lebanon remained incomplete without these 20 or so square kilometers. Dig deeper To whom do Shebaa Farms belong? While the proposed American road map initially aimed to strip Hezbollah of that 'excuse' by demarcating Lebanon’s borders with both Syria and Israel, Barrack appeared to shift course last week. He called for the "land of no value" to be exchanged in a bilateral deal between...
'American sponsorship is a guarantee,' says Lebanese-American coordination committee