Golan Heights: Five keys to understanding the dispute

Peace agreements

There have been numerous attempts to bring peace to the Israeli-Syrian border, but so far the most progress remains an armistice signed in 1974, which gave Syria back a sliver of land that was turned into the UNDOF zone and has kept the border mostly quiet since then.

US-brokered negotiations collapsed in 2000 over the Sea of Galilee. Syria wanted Israel to withdraw all the way to its pre-1967 borders, giving Syria an access point to the water, while Israel wanted to maintain a buffer between the lakeshore and Syrian territory in order to protects its water resources. Talks mediated by Turkey in 2008 collapsed as a result of the Israeli incursion into Gaza.

The current Israeli government is opposed to a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan, although earlier Israeli leaders floated the idea. Syria maintains full withdrawal as a precondition for peace talks to resume.

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