Ghajar

Ghajar غجر ע'ג'ר
Ghajar Location within Israel/Lebanon
Coordinates: 33°16′N 35°37′E / 33.267, 35.617
Country	Israel/Lebanon
District/Governorate	North/Nabatieh Governorate
Population
- Local council
Time zone	IST ([[UTC+2]])
- Summer (DST)	IDT ([[UTC+3]])

Ghajar (or al-Ghajar) is an Alawite village on the Lebanon-Israel border.

History

Prior to the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, this village was in Syria. When Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, the village remained in no man's land for two and a half months until its food reserve ran out. Lebanon refused to take control over the village considering it a Syrian territory, while Israel considered it a Lebanese territory. About half of the village residents (some 350 people) left to Syria during this period of uncertainty. Eventually the village's leaders negotiated with the Israeli authorities and accepted the Israeli rule^[1]. In 1981 most villagers agreed to become Israeli citizens under the Golan Heights Law.

In the 1978 South Lebanon conflict, Israel invaded and occupied southern Lebanon, and the village started to grow northward into Lebanese territory.^[2] Because the village fell on the UN's Blue Line separating Lebanon and the Golan Heights, two-thirds of the village was transferred to Lebanese control when Israel withdrew from Southern Lebanon in 2000. Residents on both sides of the village have Israeli citizenship.^[3] They work and travel freely within Israel, but those living on the Lebanese side of the village have difficulties receiving services from Israel, as Israeli citizens and its army do not enter the Lebanese side so as not to be seen as violating Lebanese sovereignty. There is an Israel Defense Forces checkpoint at the entrance to the village from Israel, and a fence surrounding it, but there is no fence or barrier dividing the Israeli and Lebanese sides of the village. Residents of the village can enter both Israel and Lebanon freely.^{[citation needed]}Hezbollah uses the Lebanese side of the village as a base to spy into Israel, and has also tried to attack Israeli soldiers from the area several times.^[4]

Israeli soldiers remain on the Lebanese side of Ghajar despite a December 3rd 2006 Israeli cabinet decision to hand it over to UNIFIL.^{[citation needed]} This is due to the Lebanese army pulling out of a UN brokered deal that would have secured the northern section of Ghajar with the Lebanese Army protecting the northern section of the city with UNIFIL deploying security detail within the village itself. After the 2006 Lebanon War, Israelis took over the territorial control of whole village. The UN military personnel comprising of UNIFIL spanish troops and OGL observers are patrolling the area continously to prevent any untoward incident in the area. A new technical fence has come up in the area and the blue line has been realigned after the latest developments. As of Now Israel has full territiorial control of the village - [2]

References

1. ^ According to Dudu Ben-Tzur's interview with Khatib Jamal, a resitent of Ghajar, in December 1993. Published in Hebrew in Teva Ha-Dvarim, 2nd issue, Februar-March 1994 [1].
2. ^ A New Fence Is Added to a Border Town Already Split
3. ^ Ghajar says 'don't fence me in', by Uri Ash, Haaretz
4. ^ Kidnap of soldiers in July was Hezbollah's fifth attempt

North District
Cities	Afula | Acre (Akko) | Beit She'an | Karmiel | Kiryat Shmona | Ma'alot-Tarshiha | Migdal HaEmek | Nahariya | Nazareth | Nazareth Illit | Safed | Sakhnin | Shaghur | Shefa-'Amr (Shfar'am) | Tamra | Tiberias | Yokneam
Local councils	Abu Sinan | Arraba | Basmat Tiv'on | Beit Jann | Bir al-Maksur | Bu'eine Nujeidat | Buq'ata | Daburiyya | Deir Hanna | Eilabun | Ein Qiniyye | Ein Mahal | Fassuta | Ghajar | Hurfeish | Hatzor HaGelilit | I'billin | Iksal | Ilut | Jadeidi-Makr | Julis | Ka'abiyye-Tabbash-Hajajre | Kabul | Kafr Kanna | Kafr Manda | Kafr Yasif | Kaokab Abu al-Hija | Katzrin | Kfar Kama | Kfar Tavor | Kfar Vradim | Kineret | Kisra-Sumei | Maghar | Majdal Shams | Mas'ada | Mashhad | Mazra'a | Metula | Mevo Hama | Migdal | Nahf | Peki'in | Rame | Reineh | Ramat Yishay | Rosh Pinna | Sajur | Sandala | Sha'ab | Shlomi | Shibli-Umm al-Janam | Tuba-Zangariyye | Tur'an | Yafa an-Naseriyye | Yanuh-Jat | Yavne'el | Yesod HaMa'ala | Yirka | Zarzir
Regional councils	Al-Batuf | Beit She'an Valley | Bustan al-Marj | Northern Jordan Valley (Emek HaYarden) | Golan | HaGilboa | Jezreel Valley | Lower Galilee | Upper Galilee | Ma'ale Yosef | Matte Asher | Megiddo | Merom HaGalil | Mevo'ot HaHermon | Misgav

Coordinates: 33°16′22″N, 35°37′25″E source:dewiki

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