[msnimje]

Why do they want the farms, so they can turn it back into desert like the pallies are doing in Gaza?

[Fred Nerks]

Your question reminded me of a scene in a story by Arthur Koestler...I think it was 'Arrow in the Blue'...

An old arab is sitting on the ground, watching Jewish workers clear a hill of rocks, on which to build a kibbutz and plant a garden...the old man gets up, peers through the fence, asks for a cigarette. He's given one. And as he lights up, he is asked, 'tell me why did your people never think to do what we are doing here?'

Let me ask you something, the arab said...am I here for the hill, or is the hill there for me?

Paraphrased. I read that a long time ago. But you'll get the idea...just give it time to sink in.

[donmeaker]

Shebaa farms were disputed territory between Syria and Lebanon, which Syria controlled as part of the Golan Heights.

After Israel took the Golan heights in 1967, Syria "gave" it to Lebanon after Israel annexed the Golan heights. When Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, the UN drew the line IAW the old boundary between Syria and Lebanon.

The intent: Get back the Shebaa Farms, then use it to shoot mortars, artillery, and rockets at Israel, as Syria had done for years before 1967.