Syria said mulling plan to cede Shaba Farms to Lebanon

Syria is considering a proposal to give Lebanon sovereignty over the Shaba Farms, on the slopes of Mount Hermon, by signing a new border deal with Lebanon, according to information that has reached Israel from several sources in the last few days.

Political sources in Jerusalem said the proposal indicates that the Syrians are trying to ease the diplomatic pressure on them and put the ball in Israel's court.

If the Shaba Farms are considered Lebanese territory, Israel will be asked to withdraw from the region. Failure to do so will provide Hezbollah with justification to act in South Lebanon and call the Israeli occupation ongoing.

Control of the Shaba Farms, in the Har Dov region, has been controversial since the IDF withdrawal from South Lebanon in May 2000. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government say the farms are Lebanese territory occupied by Israel, and use this to justify the deployment of Hezbollah forces along the Israeli border and the militant group's continued violent activity.

The UN has accepted the Israeli position that the Shaba Farms constitute Syrian, not Lebanese, territory, and has decided that Israel has fully withdrawn from Lebanon. If the territory belongs to Syria, its future must be determined in future negotiations on the Golan Heights, and has no connection to the pullout from Lebanon.