Golan Heights and the Israel-Syria Conflict Geography

The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau on the border between Syria and Israel. This card gives its place and size.

Where does it lie?

It sits at the southwest edge of Syria. Israel borders it, and it overlooks northern Israel.

The Sea of Galilee lies close by. That lake matters a great deal to Israel, as the next card shows.

How big is it?

One reference work puts the area at about 480 square miles. That is about 1,250 square kilometres.

Who lives there?

The same source says about 2,000 Israelis lived in about forty-two settlements there in the 2010s and early 2020s. About 20,000 Arabs also lived there.

Two things make the plateau valuable. They are its height and its water.

What does the height give?

The plateau looks down on northern Israel. Syrian guns fired from it in the wars of 1948, 1967 and 1973.

Israel’s foreign ministry has argued that holding the Golan gives a border that is easier to defend against invasion by land.

Why does water matter?

The Jordan River flows through the Golan Heights into the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee supplies about one-third of Israel’s drinking water.

How did water enter the peace talks?

In talks, Israel insisted on keeping a strip of land beside the Sea of Galilee. Syria insisted on the border as it stood before 1967, on the lake’s northeastern shore.

So the lake shore and the border line were sticking points in the talks.

The story runs through three wars and one law. This card gives them in order.

What happened in 1967?

Israel captured most of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.

What happened in 1973 and 1974?

Syria tried to regain the Golan in the 1973 war. Israel thwarted it.

The two countries then agreed to separate their forces. The Security Council welcomed that Agreement on Disengagement on 31 May 1974.

What did Israel decide in 1981?

In December 1981 Israel decided to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Golan. Most countries rejected the move.

The Council has spoken on the Golan several times. This card reads the key texts one by one.

What did Resolution 242 say?

Resolution 242 was adopted on 22 November 1967. It stressed that acquiring territory by war is inadmissible.

It also named the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict.

What did Resolution 497 say?

Resolution 497 was adopted unanimously on 17 December 1981. It decided that Israel’s decision to impose its laws on the occupied Syrian Golan was null and void and without international legal effect.

It demanded that Israel rescind the decision. It also said the Fourth Geneva Convention continues to apply to Syrian territory occupied since June 1967.

What is Resolution 338?

The Council’s later texts keep calling on the parties to carry out Resolution 338 of 22 October 1973. The 1974 disengagement was negotiated to carry out that resolution.

UNDOF is the UN force that watches the ceasefire line in the Golan. This card says how it began and who serves in it.

How was it set up?

UNDOF is the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. Resolution 350 set it up on 31 May 1974, after the Israeli and Syrian forces agreed to disengage.

The vote was 13 to none. China and Iraq did not take part in the vote. The force began with an initial period of six months, open to renewal.

What does it do?

It maintains the ceasefire between Israeli and Syrian troops. It also supervises the areas of separation and limitation.

Who serves in it?

As at 11 February 2025 UNDOF had 1,125 troops, including 90 women. Another 92 military observers from Observer Group Golan helped it.

Nepal supplied the most troops, 445. India supplied 187.

Almost no state accepts Israeli sovereignty over the Golan. This card names the two that do.

What did the United States do?

On 25 March 2019 President Trump signed a proclamation recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan. NPR described it as a reversal of a position US administrations had held for more than fifty years.

What did Colombia do?

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry announced its recognition on Monday 10 August 2026. This came days after a new president took office.

Al Jazeera reported that Colombia joined the United States as the only other country to recognise Israel’s claim.

What does the UN say?

Al Jazeera adds that the UN regards the region as part of Syria. In July 2026 the UN Secretary-General repeated that stance and called the occupation “totally unacceptable”.

This list is as at 11 August 2026. Check the news for later changes.

The fall of the Assad government changed the map on the ground. This card follows what UN reports recorded.

What happened on 8 December 2024?

The government of Bashar al-Assad fell on 8 December 2024. Israeli forces entered the area of separation the same day.

What did Israeli forces build?

From 8 December UN personnel saw checkpoints, roadblocks and new positions in the area of separation. By 18 February 2025 Israeli forces had built 10 positions there. They also held two houses in the area of limitation.

What did Israel tell UNDOF?

Israel said it would enter the area of separation as a temporary defensive measure. It wanted to stop armed groups from occupying the area after Syrian authorities withdrew. It also reserved the right to act against threats.

How does the UN treat this?

Under the 1974 Agreement, any military presence in the area of separation other than UNDOF is a violation. The Secretary-General’s report records UNDOF protesting such actions.

What was the picture in August 2026?

Al Jazeera reported that Israel had expanded its military footprint in Syria. It said Israeli forces had moved into the UN-monitored buffer zone. It also said they had seized the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, which overlooks Damascus.

Yes. The Council has kept renewing the force in six-month steps. This card lists the latest renewals.

Which resolutions renewed it?

• Resolution 2766, adopted 20 December 2024: six more months, until 30 June 2025.
• Resolution 2811, adopted 29 December 2025: until 30 June 2026.
• Resolution 2824, adopted 25 June 2026: until 31 December 2026.

What do the renewals repeat?

Each text stresses that both parties must respect the 1974 Agreement. Each says there should be no military activity of any kind in the area of separation. Each asks the Secretary-General to report every 90 days.

What did the December 2024 text add?

Resolution 2766 said no forces, equipment or personnel other than UNDOF’s should be in the area of separation. It also wanted peacekeepers to return to their area of operations as soon as practicable.

Five texts are easy to mix up. This table sets them side by side.

The number tells you the era. Three digits means the 1960s to 1980s, and four digits means recent years.

Golan questions mix dates, resolutions and recognition. This card lists the usual traps.

What should I check first?

1. Border. The Golan lies on the Israel-Syria border, not on a Jordan or Lebanon border.
2. Capture year. Israel captured it in 1967. The 1973 war was Syria’s attempt to take it back.
3. Annexation year. The Security Council record puts Israel’s decision in December 1981. One reference book says 1982, so read the options.
4. Which resolution. 242 is withdrawal, 350 is UNDOF, and 497 is “null and void”.
5. Recognition. As at August 2026 the list is the United States and Colombia.
6. UNDOF. It is not closed. Its mandate is renewed every six months.