The Geostrategic
Status of the Golan Heights
Above the Sea of Galilee rises n escarpment, its
height ranging from 800 to 100 meters altitude known as the
Golan Heights, towering over the Jordan rift valley to its west.
It covers a total area of some 900 square kilometers. These
ancient hills were created by volcanic activity, pouring out
from craters, covering the high plateau with layers of basalt,
making cross-country movement difficult. The highest point is
Mount Hermon, a multi-peaked mountain rising to 2814 meters
at its peak, which dominates observation over the entire region
up to the Damascus Basin to the east- only some 60 kilometers
away. he so-called "Purple Line" established after
the ceasefire of June 10th, 1967 provided an excellent line
of defense for Israel, located mostly along the watershed and
enabling long range observation posts from a line of volcanic
hills, on which the IDF established strategic electronic surveillance
stations. On the other hand, from pure strategic view, the same
Golan Heights contribute almost nothing to the defense of Syria's
capital Damascus. A glimpse at the map indicates that due to
topographical features to its west, Damascus can best be defended
along the Awaj River near Sasa and the two stony deserts to
the south, both impassable to military traffic. Any defense
further west, including the Golan Heights can be outflanked,
as the IDF did during the latter stages of the 1973 Yom Kippur
War.
The Golan heights- Israel's strategic Bulwark
Due to its geo-strategic topography, Israel's
northern border poses some serious anomalies to its defensive
posture: What is known as the "Galilee Panhandle",
an area which pokes like a finger from the Hula valley northward
up to the Lebanese border, is a curious geographical phenomenon,
created as result of hasty, shortsighted decisions made by the
French and British following their victory over the Ottoman
empire after WW1. The facts of this political fiasco, are apparent
to even the most impartial observer. On its west, the Panhandle
leans on a mountain range, only partially under Israeli sovereignty,
the rest is Lebanon. (Over this very ground was fought last
summer's Second Lebanon War, with disastrous consequences, partly
due to topographical constraints) Only a mere 5000 to 7000 meters
in width along its northern part, the Panhandle is dominated
on its east by the towering Golan Heights, from which, pre-1967
Israeli settlements were constantly bombarded by Syrian artillery
located on the overlooking slopes.
Under the present circumstances prevailing in
this region, should Israel deprive itself of its most important
strategic asset for a mere piece of paper, signed by a single
leader, would be a strategic mistake, having serious consequences
to any future negative change in Middle Eastern affairs. In
fact, Syria's national interests are focused not only on the
Golan Heights, which represent only an insignificant part of
its entire territory. Syria's long-term strategic aims are to
exert its hegemony over Lebanon and Israel's northern territory
and even part of northern Jordan, which it considers part of
their strategic aspirations over a "Greater Syria"
predominance.
One of the options being proposed by the Baker-Hamilton
report is to place US forces to mentor a future Syria-Israel
peace deal over the Golan Heights, following Israel's withdrawal.
Part of this would be US experts taking charge of the IDF monitoring
stations on Mount Hermon and the overlooking border hills. As
real-time intelligence in modern warfare is regarded imperative
in early warning relinquishing these highly strategic assets,
even under a friendly monitored replacement could become a crucial
matter of national security. For example, During Operation Desert
Storm, US intelligence on Iraqi Scud launch zones in western
Iraq, vital to Israel, was denied even when Saddam's missiles
impacted on Tel Aviv. But there are other reasons for Israel's
reluctance to place US forces on the Golan. The presence of
US forces in harms way to guard Israel against hostile infiltrations
and subsequent preventive counter-guerrilla operations by the
IDF could lead to unnecessary tension between the two allied
nations.
In conclusion, the Golan Heights represents a
vital strategic asset for Israel's security, especially in view
of the current political developments in the region. The danger
of the so-called Shiite Crescent engulfing Israel from its north
and north-eastern border, with a Hezbollah dominated and Iranian-backed
Lebanese Government, places Israel, should it cede the Golan
Heights to Syria, before a strategic disaster. Being defensive
in its nature, the Golan Heights not only safeguards Israel's
north, but deters, by the IDF long range reach into the Damascus
basin, from any offensive options, which Bashar Assad may consider
to regain the Heights by force under an Iranian umbrella.
Read David Eshel's past commentary here |
