Zionism and Southern Lebanon: A Historical Perspective on Six Decades of Controversy
Abstract
Current events in southern Lebanon are connected to a territorial dispute that emerged over sixty years ago, when leading Zionists claimed the region. That claim, which was based upon the projected economic and security needs of the Jewish national home in Palestine, did not prevail in the course of post-World War I Anglo-French diplomacy. Since then the Zionist leaders of Palestine and Israel have tried to overcome the negative economic and security implications of the boundary settlement. Yet Zionist access to southern Lebanese water has been consistently blocked, and the frontier has proven vulnerable to raids and rocket attacks by hostile forces. It appears however that Israel has recently converted the border region from a long-standing liability into a current geopolitical asset. Recent Israeli policies in southern Lebanon have (1) aggravated sectarian tensions in Lebanon; (2) kept Syria tied down in a difficult stability operation; and (3) made Israel's northern settlements less vulnerable to land attacks by Palestinian commandos.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA072046
Entities
People
- Frederic C. Hof
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School