Shebaa Farms, is a 25 square kilometer area consisting of 14 farms located south of Shebaa, a Lebanese village on the western slopes of Mount Hermon, at the corner where Syria, Lebanon and Israel meet. This fertile farm land produces barley, fruits and vegetables.
The region remained under Israeli control after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. Hezbollah leaders and the Lebanese government demand the return of the land to Lebanon.
However Israel considers the Shebaa farms to be Syrian territory and considers the strip part of the Golan Heights rather than of south Lebanon.
Israel took control of Shebaa Farms during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and says the area is not covered by United Nations Security Council Resolution 425 that governs its withdrawal from southern Lebanon. This resolution asks for the total withdrawal from Lebanon excluding the Shebaa farms. This decision was based on the 1923 Anglo-French demarcation and the 1949 Armistice line which designate the area as Syrian territory.
The UN recognizes the Shabaa Farms to stand outside of any legitimate Lebanese claim.
However, Lebanese and Syrian officials insisted that Syria had officially given the territory to Lebanon in 1951. Lebanese officials pointed to the fact that a number of residents in the area have land deeds stamped by the Lebanese government.
Lebanese army maps published in 1961 and 1966 specifically pinpoint several of the Shebaa Farms, including Zebdine, Fashkoul, Mougr Shebaa and Ramta, all of which are designated as being lebanese. Lebanese Ministry of Tourism maps also show the Lebanese-Syrian border running west of the Shebaa Farms. Syria has officially acknowledged the Farms are Lebanese.
