DEFSTRAT Briefing: increased troops in Golan in response.

The Golan Heights • Lebanon’s claim to a portion of the Go-

lan in the Northwest has not been rec-
Jurisdiction: Israel (disputed by Syria and ognized by Syria, highlighting Syria’s
Lebanon) attitude that Lebanon should not be an
Dominant Languages: Arabic, Hebrew independent state. While Lebanon as a
Population: (2005 estimate) 4,000 (human, state would be unlikely to support a
halflings, elves, gnomes, goblinoids). This Syrian campaign in the Golan Heights,
figure does not include soldiers in the re- Baalite extremist groups such as Hiz-
gion. baalia are generally considered to be suf-
ficiently pro-Syria and anti-Israel as to
Key Points: constitute a (very minor) ally for Syria
• Controlled by Israel since the 1967 Six
in the region.
• Syria has recently opened wider chan-
Day War, the area is a natural plateau
that offers a military advantage to who- nels of diplomatic relations with Israel,
ever controls it. in contrast to the military buildup. Ana-
• The region represents about 50% of
lysts suggest that the buildup may be
Israel’s water supply. the prelude to renewed negotiations
• Non-Jewish population is pro-Syrian,
over the territory rather than a military
pro-Baalian. Syria offers free schooling conflict.
to residents, while Israel offers citizen-
ship. Few non-Jews have taken up citi-
zenship (at least partially the fault of the
lack of rights that a non-Taiist citizen
receives anyway).
• A UN peacekeeping force (500 soldiers)
maintains a presence in a buffer zone
between the Golan Heights and Syria.
• The area is a high suppression zone for
teleportation, flight, and appearance
altering magicks.
• Israeli forces fluctuate, but are usually
held at approximately 2,000. The for-
tress at Nimrod and the town of Qazrin
both house stable teleportation entries
for Israeli forces, meaning that Israel
can begin to reinforce the area quickly.
Additionally, forces within the Golan
Heights include a comparatively large
portion of eagleriders (some 100 with
mounts) and priests (numbers un-
known).
• Syrian forces have increased in recent
months, to above 4,000 on the Eastern
side of the buffer zone. Israel has not
Note: Towns in blue are Jewish
communities.