Shebaa Farms (Arabic: ????? ?????, Mazari? ?ib?a; Hebrew: ???? ????, Havot Sheba'a) is a small area of disputed ownership located at the junction of Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. The area, now desolate, is located between the Lebanese village of Shebaa on the northwestern slopes of Mount Hermon, the Druze village of Majdal Shams on the slopes of the Golan Heights (about 7 kilometers (4 miles) away), and Israeli towns that it overlooks below, such as Qiryat Shemona.The area is about 14 km (9 miles) in length, and averages 2.5 km (2 miles) in width, coming to about 25 square km (10 square miles). Altitudes range from 150 to 1,880 meters (490?6,170 feet). Its fertile, well-watered, mountainous soil formerly produced tobacco, barley, fruits, and vegetables on 14 farms, but is now desolate.
It was captured by Israel from Syria during the Six Day War in 1967, which did not involve Lebanon. Israel considers the Shebaa Farms to be part of the Golan Heights, and extended Israeli law to the region in 1981, in an action declared as 'null and void and without international legal effect' in UN SCR 497. The controversy over the Farms first arose in 2000, as the United Nations certified Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon was complete. Israel's annexation of the Shebaa Farms has been contested by Hezbollah (since May 2000) as a reason for its continued attacks on Israel after Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon.
Members of the international diplomatic community have repeatedly requested that Syria and Lebanon take steps to determine the exact boundary between them in the Shebaa Farms region and elsewhere, including officially registering the demarcated border with the United Nations. Syrian authorities have verbally confirmed that the territory is Lebanon's but have said they cannot go further because they do not possess the land.