Israel, a country with expanding borders, may see another opportunity in Syria

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, entered Syrian territory Tuesday and said Israeli troops would remain in the area indefinitely, blurring the border with its northern neighbor.

Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has never had fully recognized borders. Throughout its history, the frontiers with its Arab neighbors have shifted as a result of wars, annexations, ceasefires and peace agreements.

Now, the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Assad has created a situation that could once again reshape Israel’s borders.

As Assad was toppled early this month, Israel quickly moved into the Syrian side of a 50-year-old demilitarized buffer zone. Netanyahu described the move as defensive and temporary, and said it was aimed at making sure that none of the groups jostling for power inside Syria threatened Israel.

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But in Tuesday’s visit to the Syrian side of the buffer zone, Netanyahu made clear that Israel plans on staying for some time. Speaking on the windswept summit of Mount Hermon overlooking Syria, he said Israel would remain “until another arrangement is found that will ensure Israel’s security.”

Here is a closer look at the evolution of Israel’s borders over the years.

Israel’s establishment

In 1947, the United Nations approved a plan to partition what was then British-controlled Mandatory Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. The contested city of Jerusalem was to be administered by the U.N.

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This plan, however, was never implemented. Israel declared independence in May 1948, and neighboring Arab countries declared war. That war ended with Israel in control of some 77% of the territory – with Jordan controlling the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and Egypt in control of the Gaza Strip.

1967 Mideast war

During the six days of fighting of the 1967 Mideast war, Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan, Gaza and the Sinai peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

Initially celebrated by Israel, the lightning victory set the stage for decades of conflict that continue to reverberate today.

Israel quickly annexed east Jerusalem – home to the city’s most sensitive Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites as well as its Palestinian population.

Although Israel has never formally annexed the West Bank, it has informally incorporated much of the territory by building settlements that are now home to over 500,000 Jewish Israelis.

The international community overwhelmingly considers both east Jerusalem and the West Bank occupied territory.

Israel also built settlements in the Sinai, Golan and the Gaza Strip.

1979 peace agreement with Egypt

Under Israel’s first peace agreement with an Arab country, Israel returned the Sinai peninsula to Egypt and dismantled all settlements there.

1981 Golan annexation

Israel annexed the Golan Heights, a strategic mountainous region overlooking northern Israel. In 2019, then-President Donald Trump became the first and only foreign leader to recognize Israel’s control. The rest of the world still considers the area occupied Syrian territory.

Netanyahu announced this week he wants to expand the Golan settler population after Assad’s downfall.

1982 invasion of Lebanon

After a brief invasion of Lebanon against Palestinian militants in 1978, Israel reentered the country in 1982 in an operation that turned into an 18-year occupation of southern Lebanon. Israel withdrew in 2000 under heavy fire from the Hezbollah militia.

1993 Oslo Accords

Israel and the Palestinians reached an interim peace deal granting the Palestinians autonomy in Gaza and parts of the West Bank, while leaving Israeli settlements intact. The accords were meant to pave the way for a two-state solution, but repeated rounds of peace talks ended in failure.

The Palestinians seek all of the West Bank and Gaza for their hoped-for state, with east Jerusalem as their capital.

2005 Gaza withdrawal

Then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon led a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, uprooting all troops and 21 settlements from the territory. Two years later, Hamas militants overran Gaza and ousted the Palestinian Authority.

2023 war in Gaza and Lebanon

Responding to Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border attack, Israel invades Gaza in an operation that continues.

Israeli leaders have not laid out a clear postwar plan but have indicated they will maintain a buffer zone along Gaza’s border with Israel along with some sort of long-term military presence. Some hardliners in Netanyahu’s governing coalition have called for the re-establishment of Jewish settlements.

In October, Israeli ground troops invaded southern Lebanon after a year of fighting with Hezbollah militants. Under a ceasefire, Israel has pledged to withdraw from a strip of land it is occupying by late January.

The fall of Assad

As opposition forces ousted Assad on Dec. 8, Israeli military forces moved into the Syrian side of the demilitarized buffer zone, established after the 1973 Mideast war. Israel now controls the zone and targets deeper inside the country.

Although Israel has said the move is temporary, its open-ended presence has drawn international criticism from countries such as Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia as well as the United Nations.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged all countries with interests in Syria to “try to make sure that we’re not sparking any additional conflicts.”

The new Syrian government has already lodged a complaint with the U.N. Security Council about Israeli advances into Syrian territory. The leader of the largest insurgent group, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has publicly condemned Israel’s operations but said Syria is not seeking a military conflict with Israel.

Carmit Valensi, an expert on Syria at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, said she does not think the Israeli presence will morph into a longer-term occupation. She said Israel has little to gain by provoking al-Sharaa, who is also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, and a long-term occupation would be costly economically and for Israel’s war-fatigued army.

“It could take some time for Israel to withdraw. It depends how things develop in Syria,” she said. “If we see a moderate regime emerge, in the same line Golani is trying to pave, I don’t see any reason to hold those territories for the long term.”