Lebanon’s Southern Border: Conflict, Occupation, and Territorial Dispute

Yasin Atlıoğlu

Article Details

Lebanon’s Southern Border: Conflict, Occupation, and Territorial Dispute

Authors:

Yasin Atlıoğlu

Publisher:

Sakarya University

Main Topics:

Uluslararası İlişkiler (Diğer)

Journal:

Türkiye Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Dergisi Vol.11 Issue 2, pp.71-100

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

8/2024

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001329550

pISSN:

2147-7523

Keywords:

Abstract:

 Following the Hamas-led attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023, Hezbollah and Israel engaged in a worrying and dangerous military escalation along Lebanons southern border. For months, exchanging cross-border attacks has resulted in hundreds of casualties, including civilians, large-scale destruction of property, and displacement in South Lebanon. It also raised the prospect of conflict spilling over into Lebanese territory and escalating into full-scale war. Although conflict on Lebanons southern border is seen as an armed struggle between Hezbollah and Israel, it is actually a result of historical process backing the 1920s. The border line was first drawn by the British and French in 1923 as the Lebanese-Palestinian border but transformed a de facto Lebanese-Israeli border after the 1949 Armistice Agreement. The demarcation line has provided a basis for conflict, including armed clashes, occupations, and territorial disputes, from the 1967 Arab-Israeli War to the present. This study examines political and military struggles, occupations, territorial disputes, changes in the legal status of the border, and claims over the border in the century-long period. In this context, this study aims to identify the main factors leading to conflict on Lebanons southern border.

 Following the Hamas-led attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023, Hezbollah and Israel engaged in a worrying and dangerous military escalation along Lebanons southern border. For months, exchanging cross-border attacks has resulted in hundreds of casualties, including civilians, large-scale destruction of property, and displacement in South Lebanon. It also raised the prospect of conflict spilling over into Lebanese territory and escalating into full-scale war. Although conflict on Lebanons southern border is seen as an armed struggle between Hezbollah and Israel, it is actually a result of historical process backing the 1920s. The border line was first drawn by the British and French in 1923 as the Lebanese-Palestinian border but transformed a de facto Lebanese-Israeli border after the 1949 Armistice Agreement. The demarcation line has provided a basis for conflict, including armed clashes, occupations, and territorial disputes, from the 1967 Arab-Israeli War to the present. This study examines political and military struggles, occupations, territorial disputes, changes in the legal status of the border, and claims over the border in the century-long period. In this context, this study aims to identify the main factors leading to conflict on Lebanons southern border.

 Following the Hamas-led attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on 7 October 2023, Hezbollah and Israel engaged in a worrying and dangerous military escalation along Lebanons southern border. For months, exchanging cross-border attacks has resulted in hundreds of casualties, including civilians, large-scale destruction of property, and displacement in South Lebanon. It also raised the prospect of conflict spilling over into Lebanese territory and escalating into full-scale war. Although conflict on Lebanons southern border is seen as an armed struggle between Hezbollah and Israel, it is actually a result of historical process backing the 1920s. The border line was first drawn by the British and French in 1923 as the Lebanese-Palestinian border but transformed a de facto Lebanese-Israeli border after the 1949 Armistice Agreement. The demarcation line has provided a basis for conflict, including armed clashes, occupations, and territorial disputes, from the 1967 Arab-Israeli War to the present. This study examines political and military struggles, occupations, territorial disputes, changes in the legal status of the border, and claims over the border in the century-long period. In this context, this study aims to identify the main factors leading to conflict on Lebanons southern border.

 7 Ekim 2023te Hamasın Gazze Şeridinden İsraile saldırmasının ardından Hizbullah ile İsrail arasında Lübnanın güney sınırı boyunca kaygı verici ve tehlikeli bir askeri gerginlik ortaya çıktı. Sınırda aylardır karşılıklı olarak düzenlenen saldırılar, Lübnanın güneyinde aralarında sivillerin de bulunduğu yüzlerce can kaybına, büyük bir maddi yıkıma ve kitlesel göçe yol açtı. Aynı zamanda çatışmanın Lübnan topraklarına taşınarak geniş çaplı bir savaşa dönüşmesi ihtimalini ortaya çıkardı. Lübnanın güney sınırındaki çatışma, her ne kadar Hizbullah ile İsrail arasında bir silahlı mücadele olarak görülse de aslında 1920lere kadar giden tarihsel bir sürecin ürünüdür. Lübnanın güneydeki sınır hattı, ilk kez 1923te İngilizler ve Fransızlar tarafından Lübnan-Filistin sınırı olarak çizildi, fakat 1949da yapılan ateşkes antlaşmasıyla de facto bir Lübnan-İsrail sınırına dönüştü. Bu sınır hattı, 1967 Arap-İsrail Savaşından günümüze, silahlı çatışmaları, işgalleri ve toprak ihtilaflarını içeren bir çatışma için uygun bir zemin oluşturdu. Bu çalışmada, Lübnanın güney sınırının yüzyıllık tarihi boyunca yaşanan siyasi ve askeri mücadeleler, işgaller, toprak ihtilafları, sınırın hukuki statüsündeki değişiklikler ve tarafların sınır konusundaki iddiaları incelenmektedir. Bu bağlamda Lübnanın güney sınırında çatışmaya yol açan temel faktörlerin tespit edilmesi amaçlanmaktadır.

Article Details

Lebanon’s Southern Border: Conflict, Occupation, and Territorial Dispute

Authors:

Yasin Atlıoğlu

Publisher:

Sakarya University

Main Topics:

Uluslararası İlişkiler (Diğer)

Journal:

Türkiye Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Dergisi Vol.11 Issue 2, pp.71-100

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

8/2024

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001329550

pISSN:

2147-7523

Middle East

Lebanon

Israel

Conflict. Border Dispute.Ortadoğu

Lübnan

İsrail

Çatışma

Sınır İhtilafı.

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Yasin Atlıoğlu

Publisher: Sakarya University

Main Topics: Uluslararası İlişkiler (Diğer)

Journal: Türkiye Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Dergisi Vol.11 Issue 2, pp.71-100

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 8/2024

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001329550

pISSN: 2147-7523

Issues

Authors:

Yasin Atlıoğlu

Publisher:

Sakarya University

Main Topics:

Uluslararası İlişkiler (Diğer)

Journal:

Türkiye Ortadoğu Çalışmaları Dergisi Vol.11 Issue 2, pp.71-100

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

8/2024

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001329550

pISSN:

2147-7523