Geostrategic and geopolitical significance of the Golan heights for the state of Israel

Abstract

Given the relatively unfavorable geostrategic position in the surrounding often hostile countries, Israeli foreign policy was largely conditioned by almost constant and dynamic developments in the region. These dynamics were manifested in the form of several military invasions of Israel, riots by the Palestinian population, numerous terrorist attacks, and frequent retaliation by Israeli forces with the aim of achieving a satisfactory security situation. In this context, the official Tel Aviv has often been forced to find a good balance between practical defensive and security needs and Israel’s reputation in the international community, while constantly adapting to the realities of its immediate geopolitical environment. The Israeli occupation of most of the Golan Heights during the Six Day War in June 1967 was an event that, in this context, generated increased security of the country’s northern borders in the following decades, given the region’s exceptional geostrategic value, but also the opposition of the international community to the occupation, especially after 1981 when a law was passed to extend the jurisdiction of the State of Israel to the said occupied territory. Control over this region has significantly affected the favourableness of Israel’s geostrategic position, but it has also created a geopolitically complex situation, especially in the context of relations with Syria, a neighboring country. In addition to the geographical presentation of the Golan Heights and historical-geographical aspects, the paper analyses the geostrategic determinants of the Israeli occupation of the plateau, as well as the geopolitical perspectives of the area.

Keywords

• Golan Heights
• Israel
• Syria, occupation
• geostrategy
• geopolitics