Shebaa Farms vs Golan Heights: Netanyahu's office denies report

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening denied media reports that Israel had considered returning the Shebaa Farms — a disputed territory between Lebanon, Israel and Syria — in exchange for recognition of its sovereignty over the highly coveted Golan Heights (partly seized from Syria by Israel during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and then illegally annexed by Israel two-thirds in 1981).

"Reports that Israel considered ceding Mount Dov [the name given by Israel to the Shebaa Farms] are completely false."

Last July, reports from the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS had already mentioned a deal between Syria and Israel over a land swap including Lebanon directly: Tripoli, Lebanon's second-largest city, would be annexed by Syria in exchange for part of the occupied Golan Heights. At that time, Tripoli MP Achraf Rifi accused Hezbollah of spreading the information to legitimize maintaining its weapons.

More urgent questions

Although a Syrian source close to the government did not rule out such an exchange this time between the Shebaa Farms and the Golan Heights, once a security agreement is reached between the two countries, the source told Israeli radio that "there are currently more urgent issues, like that of Jebel Druze," in the province of Sweida, stirred by autonomist ambitions, led by Druze leader Hikmat al-Hijri.

"The question of Mount Dov must be resolved as part of demarcating the borders between Syria, Lebanon and Israel," the Syrian official explained, according to radio station KAN.

According to Israeli radio, talks on this security agreement were temporarily suspended after violence broke out in Sweida province in mid-July, between Druze factions backed by Israel and Bedouin fighters supported by government forces.

For his part, Hachem on Thursday called on the Lebanese government "to act quickly and face the Israeli enemy's plan." What was revealed by Israeli radio "should not be considered just information to ignore, even if a denial has been published. It's actually confirmation of maneuvers conducted behind the scenes of the enemy's policy to facilitate steps toward normalization," he said, according to comments reported by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).

Occupied by Israel since 1967, the Shebaa Farms — at the border between Lebanon and Syria — are considered Syrian by the international community. In Lebanon, Hezbollah claims it as Lebanese territory and uses it to justify retaining its arsenal.

The confirmation of the loss of sovereignty over the Golan, whose interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, hails from, would be experienced as a wrenching loss by Syrians. On May 13, 1974, a disengagement agreement was signed between Israel and Syria, notably aimed at establishing clear lines of separation on the plateau's heights. Israel has violated it since the fall of the Assad regime on Dec. 8, 2024.

By occupying the Golan, Israel deprives Syria of about 30 percent of its surface water resources, making Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida marginalized regions exposed to an increased risk of drought.