ISRAEL AND SYRIA DISPUTE: THE LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE EXPANSION OF THE OCCUPATION OF THE GOLAN HEIGHTS

Year 2025, Issue: 30, 137 - 152, 28.07.2025

Ali Osman Karaoglu

Abstract

The principal source of contention between Syria and Israel is the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied during the 1967 Six-Day War. In that war, Israel launched an attack on neighboring Arab states, occupying the entire territory of Palestine, the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, negotiations began between Israel and neighboring states, but only Egypt and Israel managed to conclude a lasting peace agreement through the Camp David Accords. The dispute with Syria over the Golan Heights, however, remained unresolved. Only a Ceasefire Agreement was signed in 1974, but Israel retained its status as an occupying power. In 1981, Israel formally annexed the Golan Heights, an act that was recognized by the U.S. President in 2019. Syria, meanwhile, has not undertaken any major military operation to recover the territory since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Furthermore, the Golan Heights dispute remained a secondary issue due to Syria’s preoccupation with civil war from March 2011 until December 2024. During this time, Israel not only maintained but further entrenched its occupation through military means and the establishment of illegal settlements. In December 2024, with the fall of the Assad regime, Israel expanded its occupation to include Mount Hermon and the United Nations Buffer Zone established under the 1974 Ceasefire Agreement, thereby deepening the conflict. This study will first examine the international legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of the Golan Heights since 1967, and the expansion of this occupation at the end of 2024. It will then assess the potential avenues for resolving the dispute. In this context, the paper will initially consider diplomatic avenues and subsequently explain the legal possibilities for the use of force within the framework of Article 51 of the UN Charter and General Assembly Resolution 3314 on the Definition of Aggression.

Keywords

International Law, Six-Day War, Syria, Israel, Golan Heights, Mount Hermon

Ethical Statement

There is no requirement of Ethics Committee Approval for this study.

References

• Abi-Saab G and Kohen M, Is ‘prolonged occupation’ still ‘military occupation’ governed by IHL? May 5, 2025, EjilTalk, https://www.ejiltalk.org/is-prolonged-occupation-still-military-occupation-governed-by-ihl/ accessed 28 May 2025
• Akande D and Tzanakopoulos A, ‘Use of Force in Self-Defence to Recover Occupied Territory: When Is It Permissible?’ (EJIL:Talk, 18 November 2020) https://www.ejiltalk.org/use-of-force-in-self-defence-to-recover-occupied-territory-when-is-it-permissible/ accessed 16 April 2025
• Charter of the United Nations (adopted 26 June 1945, entered into force 24 October 1945) 1 UNTS 16
• Crawford J, The Creation of States in International Law (2nd edn, Oxford University Press 2006)
• Dawidowicz M, ‘The Obligation of Non-Recognition of an Unlawful Situation’, in James Crawford, and others (eds), The Law of International Responsibility, Oxford Commentaries on International Law (2010; OUP), 677-686
• Dinstein Y, War, Aggression and Self-Defence (7th edn, Cambridge University Press 2017)
• Dubuisson F and Koutroulis V, ‘The Yom Kippur War – 1973’ in Tom Ruys, Olivier Corten and Alexandra Hofers (eds), The Use of Force in International Law: a Case-Based Approach (Oxford University Press 2018), 189
• Nicolosi SF, ‘The Law of Military Occupation and the Role of De Jure and De Facto Sovereignty’, (2011) 31 Polish Yearbook of International Law, 165-187
• Geneva Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (adopted 12 August 1949) 75 UNTS 287
• Golan Heights Law, 5742–1981 https://main.knesset.gov.il/EN/about/history/Documents/kns10_golan_eng.pdf accessed 10 March 2025
• Green JA, ‘The ratione temporis Elements of Self-defence’ (2015) 2(1) Journal on the Use of Force and International Law 114
• Hayyar ME, Saving Homeland: The Legality of Unilateral Use of Force to Recover Occupied Territory (LLM thesis, Ghent University 2021)
• Henry E, ‘The Falklands/Malvinas War – 1982’ in Tom Ruys, Olivier Corten and Alexandra Hofers (eds), The Use of Force in International Law: a Case-Based Approach (Oxford University Press 2018), 363-64
• ICRC in Syria, Facts and Figures, (2012), p.1. https://www.icrc.org/sites/default/files/external/doc/en/assets/files/2013/syria-facts-and-figures-2012-icrc-eng.pdf accessed 28 May 2025
• ILC, Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (2001) UN Doc A/56/49(Vol I)/Corr.4
• İleri K, ‘The Implications of Great Power Politics in the Decade Long Syrian Civil War’ (2024) 14(1) İnsan ve Toplum Dergisi 1
• International Court of Justice, Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem (Advisory Opinion) [2024] ICJ Rep
• Kattan V, ‘Why US Recognition of Jerusalem Could Be Contrary to International Law’ (2018) 47(3) Journal of Palestine Studies 72
• Lahav P, ‘The Suez Crisis of 1956 and Its Aftermath: A Comparative Study of Constitutions, Use of Force, Diplomacy and International Relations’, (2015) 95 Boston University Law Review 1297
• Osmańczyk EJ, Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements: A to F (Taylor & Francis 2003)
• Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People (White House) https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Peace-to-Prosperity-0120.pdf accessed 10 March 2025
• Phillips C, ‘The International System and the Syrian Civil War’ (2022) 78(3) International Relations 379
• Powell EJ and Wiegand KE, ‘Legal Systems and Peaceful Attempts to Resolve Territorial Disputes’ (2010) 27(2) Conflict Management and Peace Science 129
• Ronen Y, ‘The Obligation of Non-recognition, Occupation and the OPT Advisory Opinion’, VerfBlog, 2024/10/14, https://verfassungsblog.de/the-obligation-of-non-recognition-occupation-and-the-opt-advisory-opinion/ accessed 28 May 2025
• Quigley J, The Case for Palestine: An International Law Perspective (Duke University Press 2005)
• Quigley J, ‘The Six-Day War and Israeli Self-Defense: Questioning the Legal Basis for Preventive War’ (Cambridge University Press, 2013)
• Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967, para. 8, U.N. Doc. A/62/275
• Ruys T, Armed Attack and Article 51 of the UN Charter: Evolutions in Customary Law and Practice (Cambridge University Press 2010)
• Ruys T and Rodriguez Silvestre F, ‘Military Action to Recover Occupied Land: Lawful Self-defense or Prohibited Use of Force? The 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict Revisited’ (2021) 97 International Law Studies 682
• Salaymeh B, ‘Syria Under al-Assad Rule: A Case of Neopatrimonial Regime’ (2018) 10(2) Ortadoğu Etütleri 140
• Separation of Forces Agreement Between Israel and Syria, May 31, 1974. https://avalon.law.yale.edu/21st_century/pal04.asp accessed 28 May 2025
• Stone J, ‘Hopes and Loopholes in the 1974 Definition of Aggression’ (1977) 71 American Journal of International Law 224
• Sulimani G and Kletter R, ‘Settler-Colonialism and the Diary of an Israeli Settler in the Golan Heights: The Notebooks of Izhaki Gal’ (2021) 21(1) Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies 48
• Syria: UN chief calls for urgent de-escalation by Israeli forces, withdrawal from Golan buffer zone (2024). https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/12/1158131 accessed 28 May 2025
• Talmon S, ‘The Duty Not to “Recognize as Lawful” a Situation Created by the Illegal Use of Force or Other Serious Breaches of a Jus Cogens Obligation: An Obligation without Real Substance?’ in Christian Tomuschat and Jean-Marc Thouvenin (eds), The Fundamental Rules of the International Legal Order: Jus Cogens and Obligations Erga Omnes (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers 2006)
• Treaty of Peace between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Israel (signed 26 March 1979, entered into force 25 April 1979) 1138 UNTS 59
• Trump DJ, ‘Proclamation on Recognizing the Golan Heights as Part of the State of Israel’ (White House, 25 March 2019) https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-recognizing-golan-heights-part-state-israel/ accessed 10 March 2025
• UNGA Res 3314 (XXIX) (14 December 1974) UN Doc A/RES/3314(XXIX)
• UNSC Res 242 (22 November 1967) UN Doc S/RES/242 (1967)
• UNSC Res 338 (22 October 1973) UN Doc S/RES/338 (1973)
• UNSC Res 478 (20 August 1980), S/RES/478(1980)
• UNSC Res 497 (17 December 1981) UN Doc S/RES/497 (1981)
• Zimmermann TS, ‘Critical Remarks on the ICJ’s Interpretation of Article 3(g) of the Definition of Aggression’ (UNGA Resolution 3314/1974) (2018) 14(1) Revista Direito GV 99