Israel's Views on the Territories

As I have explored through this project, certain territories are strategically important for Israel to keep. For instance, it would be moronic to give the Palestinians a high and strategic place like the Golan Heights. Furthermore, places like Jerusalem are of historic significance to the Jews. In fact, it would be impractical to give up Jerusalem in general. Certain territories are too logistically difficult to give up and to dismantle their populations would be a nightmare.
For Israel, relinquishing the Golan to a hostile Syria could jeopardize its early-warning system against surprise attacks. Israel has built radars on Mt. Hermon, the highest point in the region. If Israel withdrew from the Golan and had to relocate these facilities to the lowlands of the Galilee, they would lose much of their strategic effectiveness. The Golan Heights are significant to the security and welfare of Israel for these reasons: The Golan Heights were captured from Syria in 1967 as a valuable military asset. Prior to 1967, Israelis living in the valleys below the Golan Heights suffered rocket fire and terrorist attacks from Syria for more than a dozen years.
The Golan Heights are strategically important for several reasons. Firstly, Israel's presence in the Golan Heights provides a defensible border against invasion by land. Additionally, all of northern Israel is within range of direct artillery fire from the Golan Heights; The Heights control the main water sources of the State of Israel. The Golan Heights has been under Israeli law, jurisdiction, and administration since 1981.
In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Syrian forces overran much of the southern Golan before being pushed back by an Israeli counterattack. Israel and Syria signed a ceasefire agreement in 1974 that left almost all of the Golan Heights in Israeli control, while returning a narrow demilitarized zone to Syrian control.
In addition, the topography of the Golan serves as a natural blockade against any military...