Syrian towns and villages depopulated in the Arab–Israeli conflict in the context of "Golan Heights"

⭐ In the context of the Golan Heights, Syrian towns and villages depopulated in the Arab–Israeli conflict primarily occurred as a direct consequence of what event?

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⭐ Core Definition: Syrian towns and villages depopulated in the Arab–Israeli conflict

Before the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War, the Golan Heights comprised 312 inhabited areas, including 2 towns, 163 villages, and 108 farms. In 1966, the Syrian population of the Golan Heights was estimated at 147,613. Israel seized about 70% of the Golan Heights in the closing stages of the Six-Day War. Many of these residents fled during the fighting, or were driven out by the Israeli army, and some were evacuated by the Syrian army. The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs in 1992 characterized Israel's actions as "ethnic cleansing".

Israel forcibly expelled Syrians from the Golan Heights. There were also instances of Israeli soldiers killing Syrian residents including blowing up their home with people inside.

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👉 Syrian towns and villages depopulated in the Arab–Israeli conflict in the context of Golan Heights

The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in the north and Wadi Raqqad in the east. It hosts vital water sources that feed the Hasbani River and the Jordan River. Two thirds of the area was depopulated and occupied by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War and then effectively annexed in 1981. The international community largely considers the area Israeli-occupied Syrian territory. The United States recognized it as part of Israel in 2019 during the first Trump administration. In 2024, Israel occupied parts of the remaining one third of the area.

The earliest evidence of human habitation on the Golan dates to the Upper Paleolithic period. It was home to the biblical Geshur, and was later incorporated into Aram-Damascus, before being ruled by several foreign and domestic powers, including the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Itureans, Hasmoneans, Romans, Ghassanids, several caliphates, and the Mamluk Sultanate. It was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century until its collapse, and subsequently became part of the French Mandate in Syria and the State of Damascus in 1923. When the mandate terminated in 1946, it became part of the newly independent Syrian Arab Republic, spanning about 1,800 km (690 sq mi).

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Syrian towns and villages depopulated in the Arab–Israeli conflict in the context of Paneas

Banias (Arabic: بانياس الحولة; Modern Hebrew: בניאס; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: פמייס, etc.; Ancient Greek: Πανεάς), also spelled Banyas, is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek god Pan. It had been inhabited for 2,000 years, until its Syrian population fled and their homes were destroyed by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War. It is located at the foot of Mount Hermon, north of the Golan Heights, the classical Gaulanitis, in the part occupied by Israel. The spring is the source of the Banias River, one of the main tributaries of the Jordan River. Archaeologists uncovered a shrine dedicated to Pan and related deities, and the remains of an ancient city dating from the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

The ancient city was first mentioned in the context of the Battle of Panium, fought around 200–198 BCE, when the name of the region was given as the Panion. Later, Pliny called the city Paneas (Ancient Greek: Πανειάς). Both names were derived from that of Pan, the god of the wild and companion of the nymphs. Herod the Great, king of Judaea, constructed a temple dedicated to Augustus at the site. Subsequently, Herod's son, Philip the Tetrarch, further developed the area, establishing a city. In 61 CE, Agrippa II expanded and renamed the city Neronias Irenopolis. The ancient city was mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, under the name of Caesarea Philippi, as the place where Jesus confirmed Peter's confession that Jesus was the Messiah; the site is today a place of pilgrimage for Christians.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Golan Heights ← Gaulanitis ← Paneas ← Caesarea Philippi ← Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Six-Day War → Yom Kippur War → Golan Heights → Syria → Israel →