33°16′22″N35°37′23″E / 33.27278°N 35.62306°E /33.27278; 35.62306
Ghajar غجر ע'ג'ר | |
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 Interactive map of Ghajar | |
| Grid position | 208/297PAL |
| Country |  Syria(Southern) Lebanon(Northern) |
| Control | Israel |
| Location | On the border betweenLebanon andIsraeli-occupiedGolan Heights |
| Area | |
• Total | 246 ha (610 acres) |
| Elevation | 310 m (1,020 ft) |
| Population (2023)[1] | 2,700 |
Ghajar (Arabic:غجر,Hebrew:ע'ג'ר orרג'ר), alsoRhadjar, is anAlawite-Arab village on theHasbani River, on the border betweenLebanon and theIsraeli-occupied portion of theGolan Heights.[2] The name of the village means "gypsy" in Arabic.[3] As of 2023, it had a population of 2,700, most of whom consider themselves Syrian but have Israeli ID cards.[4][5] TheBlue Line divides Ghajar between Lebanon and the Golan Heights,[6] although Israel has occupied the entire village since 2006.[7][8][9] Israel considers it a part of itsNorthern District, in which its southern part is organized as alocal council in theGolan Subdistrict.
Control over Ghajar has changed hands many times. Three hundred years ago, the village was known as Taranjeh. It was renamed Ghajar under the rule of theOttoman Empire, when the land was allegedly seized from the "villagers" byKurds and forcibly sold. According to "local" legend, the Kurdish governor of Ghajar tried to ride his horse onto the tomb of a local holy man, Sheikh al-Arba'in. The horse refused and the following day a fire broke out, destroying the governor's shield and sword. The Kurds fled and quickly sold it back.[10]
In 1838,Eli Smith noted Ghajar‘s population asAlawites.[11]
In 1932, the residents of Ghajar, predominantlyAlawites, were given the option of choosing their nationality and overwhelmingly chose to be a part ofSyria, which has a sizable Alawite minority.[12] Prior to the1967 Arab–Israeli War, Ghajar was considered part of Syria and its residents were counted in the 1960 Syrian census.[13] Before the1967 war, it was one of three mainly Alawite villages in the Golan Heights together withZa'ura and'Ayn Fit.[14]
WhenIsrael occupied theGolan Heights after capturing it from Syria in 1967, Ghajar remained ano-man's land for two and a half months. The Alawi villagers petitioned the Golan's Israeli governor to be attached to the occupied territory, as part of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, rather than Lebanon, because they considered themselves to be Syrians, like the majority of the native residents of the Golan at that time.[15][16] Israel agreed to include Ghajar in its occupied territory of the Syrian Golan Heights.[17]
In 1981, most Alawi villagers were pressured by authorities into Israeli citizenship under theGolan Heights Law[18] which annexed the occupied Syrian territory to Israel, but the unilateral annexation was not recognized by the international community. AfterOperation Litani in 1978, Israel turned over its positions inside Lebanon to theSouth Lebanon Army and inaugurated itsGood Fence policy. TheUnited Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was created after the incursion, following the adoption ofSecurity CouncilResolution425 in March 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon, restore international peace and security, and help the government of Lebanon restore its effective authority in the area.[19] Ghajar expanded northward into Lebanese territory, subsuming theWazzani settlement north of the border.[12]
In 1982,Israel invaded Lebanon.[20] In 2000, following the campaign promise and election ofEhud Barak as Prime Minister, Israel withdrew their troops from Lebanon. In an attempt to demarcate permanent borders between Israel and Lebanon, theUnited Nations drew up what became known as theBlue Line. Due to Ghajar's location, wedged between Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the northern half of the village came under Lebanese control and the southern part remained under Israeli occupation.[13]
Despite the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, tension mounted as Hezbollah made attempts to kidnap Israeli soldiers in the Ghajar area.[21] In 2005, Hezbollah launched a missile on Ghajar and infiltrated it, but withdrew after being repelled by the Israelis.[12] Following another attack in July 2006, Israel invaded southern Lebanon and re-occupied the northern half of Ghajar during the2006 Lebanon War. Following a month of intense fighting,UNSC Resolution 1701 was unanimously approved to resolve the conflict, and it was accepted by combatants on both sides. Among other things, the resolution demanded the full cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the disarming of Hezbollah, the deployment of Lebanese and UNIFIL soldiers, and the establishment of full control by the government of Lebanon.
In April 2009, the IDF agreed to withdraw from northern Ghajar at a meeting atRas al-Naqoura.[22] On 13 May, the government of Israel suspended talks to await the outcome of the Lebanese Parliamentary elections, fearing a Hezbollah victory.[23] In the wake of reports in December 2009 of a possible splitting of the village, 2,200 Ghajar residents took to the streets in protest.[24]
In November 2010, Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu informed the UN Secretary General of Israeli intentions to unilaterally withdraw from Ghajar, after failing to come to an agreement with Lebanon[25][26] and place security matters into the hands ofUNIFIL.[27] On 17 November 2010,Security Cabinet of Israel voted in favor of withdrawal from northern half of Ghajar.[28] Residents of Ghajar objected to division of the village.[4][5]
As theSyrian Civil War erupted, Israel halted redeployment along the border. Israel continues to occupy the whole village and land adjacent to it which crosses the Blue Line.[29][30][31]
In September 2022, the IDF lifted restrictions and Ghajar was opened to visitors from outside the village.[32] Ever since, the town has become a tourist hotspot.[33]
In the ongoingGaza war, asHezbollah targeted northern Israeli border communities, the IDF ordered the village residents to evacuate.[34] Despite the IDF's order, the residents of Ghajar collectively decided not to evacuate.[35]
Residents on both sides of the village have Israeli citizenship; those in the northern half often hold passports from both Lebanon and Israel.[36] They work and travel freely withinIsrael, but those living on the Lebanese side have difficulties receiving services from Israel. There was anIsrael Defense Forces checkpoint at the entrance to the village, and a fence surrounding the entire village, but no fence or barrier dividing the two sides of the village. The checkpoint at the entrance to the village was removed in September 2022 after the Local Council constructed a border fence separating the entire village from Lebanon.[37]
Most residents of Ghajar work outside the village, many of them inKiryat Shmona. In 2021, the village began to organize local tours and home hospitality, catering to small groups.[38] In 2022, local officials reported 4000 visitors per day.[39]
Culinary specialties of Ghajar include a dish calledmitabla, made of grains of wheat and corn cooked in milk, andbisara, a stew of bulgur, chickpeas and fried onions thickened with flour. Bisara is usually served with a sauce of garlic and lemon.[38]
The UN has physically marked the recognized border between Lebanon and the Golan Heights. Israeli soldiers remain on the Lebanese side of Ghajar despite the decision of the Israeli cabinet on 3 December 2006, to hand it over toUNIFIL. Israel says that the Lebanese army rejected a UN-brokered proposal in which the Lebanese Army would protect the vicinity north of the village, while UNIFIL would be deployed in the village itself; this type of arrangement would be unique for UNIFIL in populated areas. A perimeter fence has been built along the northern edge of the village in Lebanese territory up to 800 meters north of theBlue Line. UNIFIL military observers patrol the area continuously.[40]
In its October 2007 report on the implementation of the resolution, the United Nations issued a report stating that discussions on the duration of temporary security arrangements for northern Ghajar remained deadlocked. Israel remains in control north of the Blue Line and the small adjacent area inside Lebanese territory, although it does not maintain a permanent military presence there. The Lebanese Armed Forces patrol the road outside the perimeter fence. The report notes "so long as the Israel Defense Forces remain in northern Ghajar, Israel will not have completed its withdrawal from southern Lebanon in accordance with its obligations under resolution 1701 (2006)." It further notes: "Failure to make progress on this issue could become a source of tension and carry the potential for incidents in the future."[41]
Asher Kaufman, a researcher from theUniversity of Notre Dame, has disputed the Blue Line. Writing inHaaretz, he says there has never been an exact boundary agreed for Ghajar, citing conflicting maps and "sketches made by the US Embassy in Beirut". He says the village was incorrectly divided into two based on the assumption there were two villages: Ghajar in the south andal-Wazzani in the north, but that the latter "never really existed" in that location.[42]
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