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The Golan Heights is a contested area in the Middle East along the Israeli Syrian border. Geographically it is naturally bounded by the Jordan river, and the Sea of Galilee in the west, the Yarmouk River in the east and south, and by Mount Hermon in the north (for a comprehensive map, see UN Geospatial 2023). The geographical area to which the term refers differs depending on authors and contexts. In this entry, the term is used to refer to the part of the geographical Golan Heights that is occupied by Israel (if not indicated otherwise). The territorial is of immense strategic value in the Middle East, since its height allows the monitoring of both Syrian and Israeli movements (e.g., the Syrian capital Damascus and northern Israel are clearly visible from the heights) and accordingly would serve as a key outpost in any future conflicts (cf. Walter 2019, 21 et passim; Rose 2020, 188). Additionally, the Golan Heights are a key...
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References
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Zimmermann, S. (2024). Territorial Rights After War in the Golan Heights. In: Gray, K.W. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Territorial Rights. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68846-6_480-1
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