Piece Civil War
Piece Civil War
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 COIN COLLECTION SILVER MERCURY DIME INDIAN HEAD BUFFALO NICKEL PROOF 7 PIECE LOT  US $19.99
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 Rare US Civil War Silver Commemorative Coin YS10 US $7.57
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 2011 P $1 Rutherford Hayes NGC PF69 Ultra Cameo US $24.99
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 1865 US CIVIL WAR ERA 2 CENT PIECE ODD DENOM GREAT CONVERSATION PIECE US $11.00
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 RARE OLD US 1883 NO CENTS LIBERTY NICKEL POST CIVIL WAR DATED COIN US $8.75
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 RARE OLD US 1863 INDIAN HEAD PENNY CENT CIVIL WAR DATED COIN US $2.34
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 RARE OLD US 1857 FLYING EAGLE PENNY CENT POST CIVIL WAR DATED COIN US $12.50
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 RARE OLD US 1858 FLYING EAGLE PENNY CENT POST CIVIL WAR DATED COIN US $10.13
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 1854 US Silver Seated HALF Dime Arrows By Date Nice Looking Circulated Coin NR US $32.78
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 2 EARLY INDIAN HEAD PENNIES CIVIL WAR ERA 1862 1879 VERY NICE CONDITION US $10.10
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 6 Two Cent Pieces 2 1864 1 1865 3 unknown US $4.25
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 Fractional Currency 5 Cent Note 1863 Civil War P1 053 US $7.38
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 Fractional Currency 10 Cent Note 1863 Civil War P1 054 US $7.45
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 CIVIL WAR ERA 1864 FINE TWO CENT PIECE OLD US COIN US $15.99
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 Old Currency 1861 Pre Civil War Egg Harbor Bank New Jersey $2 Note P1 075 US $10.00
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 8 2 CENT COINS US $8.09
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 1865 2 CENT COIN WE IN MOTTO CLEAR LINES IN SHIELD BOLD US $11.49
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 GOLD ON STERLING SILVER US LANDMARKS MEDAL STONE MOUNTAIN US $30.00
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 Unsearched Wheat Indianhead Roll w 1855 Seated Half Dime 1900 Barber L41H US $26.00
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 2 Piece US Mint 1995 Civil War Battlefield Coin Set In Box US $57.00
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 FMR 1863 50 CENTS ALABAMA FRACTIONAL CIVIL WAR CURRENCY BANK NOTE US $21.91
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 Unsearched Wheat Indianhead Roll w 1790 VOC Duit VF 1902 IndianHead L42H US $32.00
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 1863 North Carolina 50 cent Treasury Note Confederate Era Fifty Cents US $149.99
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 1864 10000 dollars confederate states of america US $59.00
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 Unsearched Wheat Indianhead Roll w d Mercury s Barber Dime ends L43H US $25.01
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 1864 Indian Head Penny Cent Coin Civil War Era US $6.95
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 $5 1934A NORTH AFRICA CGA 20 OUTSTANDING US $25.33
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 10c 1862 PLANTERS BANK CLARKSVILLE BRANCH NASHVILLE TN SN 954 US $21.50
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 5c 1862 PLANTERS BANK MURFREESBORO BRANCH NASHVILLE TN SN 633 US $5.50
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 $5 1934A NORTH AFRICA CGA 12 OUTSTANDING US $12.50
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 $1 1934A NORTH AFRICA PMG 63 FC BLOCK ONLY 12000 PRINTED US $326.00
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 $10 1934A NORTH AFRICA CGA VF25 NICE US $25.33
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 25c 1862 ALABAMA INSURANCE CO RED OVERPRINT US $12.50
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 $2 1899 SILVER CERTIFICATE PMG 65 EPQ TEEHEE AUTOGRAPH US $1,725.00
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 $2 1899 SILVER CERTIFICATE PCGS AU55 ATTRACTIVE US $335.00
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 25c 1861 JOHN B SMITH WAYNESBORO VA US $82.00
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 1859 INDIAN HEAD CIVIL WAR ERA COPPER NICKLE WHITE CENT 5947B US $.01
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 1865 2 CENT PIECE FROM THE CIVIL WAR ERA 6039B US $.02
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 HUGE ESTATE COIN COLLECTION LOT GOLD PROOFS SILVER BAR BU ROLL STOCKS WWII US $20.50
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 1864 2 CENT PIECE VERY NICE COIN FROM THE CIVIL WAR ERADAMAGED OBV 6745B US $.07
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 1862 INDIAN HEAD CIVIL WAR ERA COPPER NICKLE WHITE CENT 9471 US $.06
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 OLD US COIN 1871 RARE 3 CENT PIECE POST CIVIL WAR TIME US $11.76
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 OLD US COINS CIVIL WAR TOKEN 1863 FANTASTIC PIECE US $21.99
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 OLD US COINS 1864 RARE 2 CENT PIECE CIVIL WAR 2C US $21.50
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 1864 Two Cent Coin Cival War US $.99
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 WORLD WAR II SILVER COINS AND TWO CENT PIECE CIVIL WAR ERA COIN US $28.50
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 OLD US COIN 1866 RARE 3 CENT PIECE POST CIVIL WAR TIME US $10.50
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 1863 CIVIL WAR TOKEN ARMY NAVY US $32.00
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 1863 Civil War Token The Flag of our Union US $32.00
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 1864 CIVIL WAR TOKEN LIBERTY OUR ARMY US $28.00
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 20 Gram 999 Silver Round US Civil War Union Artillery Round Liberian US $34.99
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 20 Gram 999 Silver Round US Civil War Naval Warfare Round Liberian US $34.99
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 1864 2 CENT PIECE CIVIL WAR ERA HAS NO WEAR VISABLE US $10.45
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 Rare Civil War Memorial Silver Commemorative Coin YS09 US $3.49
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 1885 Portland Maine General Ulysses S Grant Camp Grand Army Of Republic Medal US $45.00
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 1864 US TWO CENT 2c PIECE First Year in Series Edge Artificially Reeded NR US $1.79
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 1829 CLASSIC HEAD COPPER HALF CENT PRE CIVIL WAR COIN LK US $2.25
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 1857 FLYING EAGLE PENNY PRE CIVIL WAR COIN LK US $5.50
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 1819 CORONET HEAD LARGE COPPER PENNY PRE CIVIL WAR COIN LK US $.99
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 1842 BRAIDED HAIR LARGE COPPER PENNY PRE CIVIL WAR COIN LK US $7.01
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 1864 2 CENT COPPER COIN CIVIL WAR COIN LK US $1.25
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 1847 US BRAIDED HAIR LARGE CENT Rare Beautiful Coin w Nice Rim and Bold Detail US $9.05
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 1864 Civil War Era Two Cent Piece XF AU FREE SHIPPING US $16.03
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 1865 Two Cent Piece A nice coin Vintage Civil War era money US $4.03
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 Heraldic Art Silver Medal 925 Civil War Centennial Original Envelope 8 US $19.99
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 1864 CIVIL WAR ERA TWO CENT PIECE VERY FINE DETAILS ORIGINAL SURFACES US $.99
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 Railroad Bank with Ships 1853 $1 Michigan Pre Civil War Currency P1 065 US $12.50
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 Unsearched Wheat Indianhead Roll w 1866 3 cent Nickel 1898 Barber Dime L44H US $43.23
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 ★ 1863 S Seated Liberty Half Dollar 50C NICE BU RARE MS Uncirculated Coin ★ US $1,895.00
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 Unsearched Wheat Indianhead Roll w 1890 Seated Dime 1926 Mercury Dime L45H US $26.00
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 Two 2 1864 Two Cent Coins About Good no problems US $9.95
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 Unsearched Penny Roll 31 1907 IH IH Reverse showing on ends US $37.00
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 Unsearched Penny Roll 32 IH Reverse showing on Both ends US $36.00
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 Unsearched Penny Roll 33 1898 IH IH Reverse showing on ends US $26.00
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 Unsearched Wheat Indianhead Roll w VG 1905 Indianhead VG 1914 Barber L46H US $10.51
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 Unsearched Penny Roll 34 1913D Lincoln Penny IH Reverse showing on ends US $27.04
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 OLD US CIVIL WAR TOKEN 1863 MONITOR FANTASTIC PIECE US $48.72
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 OLD US COIN 1865 RARE 3 CENT PIECE CIVIL WAR TIME US $12.51
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 UNCIRCULATED OLD US COINS CIVIL WAR TOKEN 1860s DESIRABLE PIECE US $33.99
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 OLD US COINS 1867 RARE 2 CENT PIECE POST CIVIL WAR 2C US $51.00
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 3 DAY AUCTIONCONFEDERATE $200 NOTE FOUND IN GREENSBORONC LK UNUSUAL US $5.76
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 Rare US Civil War Gold Plated Commemorative Coin Y09 US $3.49
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 Gold Presidential Dollar Abraham Lincoln Brilliant Uncirculated Mint US $7.99
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 US CURRENCY 1870s LOUISIANA $5 BABY BOND CRISP CU POST CIVIL WAR DOCUMENT US $24.95
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 1857 SEATED LIBERTY HALF DIME US $25.00
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 Unsearched Penny Roll 41 IH Reverse showing on Both ends US $16.50
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 1865 United States Liberty Head 3 Cent Piece Civil War Era Original VG F US $1.04
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 Civil War Era 1864 Philadelphia Pa George Washington Great Central Fair Medal US $8.01
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 GREEK City in Spain 200BC Authentic Original Ancient Greek Coin Horse US $3.25
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 1250 RARE CIVIL WAR PHOTOS SEE MY MOVIE Coins TOO US $14.95
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 RARE 1861 Indian Head Penny COPPER NICKEL An About Good Coin FREE SHIPPING US $3.25
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 1858 FLYING EAGLE PENNY PRE CIVIL WAR COIN LK US $7.50
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 1865 US Nickel Three Cent Piece 3c Looks Cleaned But Nice Coin Full Liberty US $10.51
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Robert M. Poole on “The Battle of Arlington” (smithsonianmag)
Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War (1 of 9)
The Legal Status of Shebaa Farms under International Law by Gabriel Sawma
Background
Following World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the territories of Lebanon and Syria, which were considered one single political unit prior to the War, were mandated by the League of Nations to France. The principle underlying the Mandate was expressed in Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations.
The Mandate proceeded until November 26, 1941, when General Georges Catroux, de Gaule's choice for governing the mandated territory, proclaimed in the name of his government and its ally the termination of the mandate and the establishment of sovereignty and independence" of Lebanon and Syria. Lebanon became a constitutional republic in 1943.
The internationally recognized borders between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria are governed by the 1949 Armistice Agreements. Those agreements ended the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established the armistice lines between Israel and the West Bank, also known as the Green Line, until the 1967 Six-Day War between the Arab States of Jordan, Egypt and Syria on one side and Israel on the other side.
The Armistice Agreement between Israel and Lebanon was signed on March 23, 1949. It points the following
The Armistice Line (The Blue Line") was drawn along the international border.
The international border between Lebanon and Israel are considered to be a de jure international border (i.e. by law).
Israel withdrew its forces from 13 villages in Lebanese territory, which were occupied during the war.
With the exception of the Lebanon-Israel Armistice Agreement, the other agreements were clear (at Arab insistence) that they were not creating a permanent or du jure borders.
The Israeli-Syrian Invasion of Lebanon
On March 15, 1978, Israel launched a major military incursion into South Lebanon, called the Litani River Operation, and struck at PLO bases and staging areas south of the Litani River, up to 10 kilometers deep inside the country. The operation prompted a formal statement of United States Concern with the Territorial Integrity of Lebanon," calling for Israeli withdrawal and discussing a United Nations role in Lebanon. On March 19, 1978, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 425 calling for Israeli withdrawal and establishing an international peace-keeping force for South Lebanon, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), to enable establishing of a buffer zone in southern Lebanon free of PLO bases.
By June, 1978, Prime Minister Begin, under intense American pressure, withdrew Israeli forces, which were replaced by UNIFIL. The withdrawal of Israeli troops without having removed the PLO from its bases in southern Lebanon became a major embarrassment to the Begin government. The cross-border cycle of attack and retaliation continued, and the PLO expanded its bases, forces, and armaments in Lebanon. Finally, Israel responded with its 1982 invasion and occupation of southern Lebanon. The UNIFIL force is still deployed in 2006.
UNIFIL was unable to prevent terrorists from infiltrating the region. Cross-border conflict between Israel and various forces in southern Lebanon continued to intensify. Civilians on both sides, and UNIFIL peacekeepers, were killed as the fighting continued to escalate, and Palestinians were shelling the northern Israel. In June 3, 1982, the Defense Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the invasion of Lebanon with a massive force in an operation called Peace for the Galilee. Israeli forces drove all the way to Beirut. The PLO's leadership was forced to move to Tunis. This military operation, although planned for limited duration, became bogged down and continued far longer than expected. The army lost 650 soldiers. For three years the Israel Defense Force (IDF) remained deep in Lebanon, until it withdrew, in 1985, to the international border. Some territory in south Lebanon was retained as a security zone. The area was monitored jointly by Israeli Army (IDF) and its Southern Lebanese Army (SLA) ally.
The Lebanese Civil War, which started in April, 1975, provided the pretext for Syrian Military intervention in Lebanon. Alleging the fear of a Christian-Muslim partition of the country and/or a PLO takeover, Hafez Assad of Syria sent, on June 1, 1976, 12,000 regular Syrian troops to Lebanon. By September of that year the number reached approximately 25,000 men. The Syrian force was operating under what came to be known as the Arab Deterrent Force authorized by the Riyadh Summit held in October 1976. Syrian troops acted to disarm some Lebanese militias at the same time that the national army of Lebanon disintegrated. By 1977, the number of Syrian troops exceeded 30,000, with over 200 tanks. On October 13, 1990, Syrian forces captured the presidential palace at Ba'abda, southeast of Beirut, and defeated the Lebanese Army units, which were under the command of General Michel Aoun, who declared 'a war of liberation" against Syria. Syrian military occupation of Lebanon incorporated the entire country with the exception of southern Lebanon, which was under the control of the Israeli Army and the Southern Lebanese Army.
On May 23, 2000, the Israeli military carried out a unilateral withdrawal from the south and the Bekaa Valley, ending 22 years of occupation causing the collapse of the 6,000 SLA members. With the withdrawal of Israeli forces, many Lebanese began calling for a review of the continued Syrian presence in their country.
On June 16, 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted the report of the Secretary General verifying Israel's compliance with UNSCR 425 and the withdrawal of Israeli troops to their side of the demarcated Lebanese-Israeli line of separation (The Blue Line") mapped out by UN cartographers. In August, 2000, with the permission of Syria, the Lebanese Government ordered the deployment of 500 police and 500 soldiers to areas of south Lebanon evacuated by the Israelis. This force was not allowed to disarm Hizbullah guerrillas or to take up positions along the blue lines. Hizbullah maintained observation posts and conducted patrols along the Blue Line.
In the summer of 2004, Syria pressured the country's cabinet into endorsing a constitutional change designed to let President Emile Lahoud extend his expiring six-year term for three more years. Prime Minister Rafik Hariri had for years been a fierce foe of Mr. Lahoud and had strongly opposed amending the Constitution. But suddenly he changed his mind after a night meeting with the Syrian chief of military intelligence.
On September 2, 2004, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1559, coauthored by France and the United States. The Resolution calls upon all remaining foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon" and for the disbanding and disarmament of all Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias." Syria made few moves to comply with the Resolution until the assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, on February 14, 2005. International pressure and mass demonstrations that were labeled 'the Cedar Revolution' prompted President Bashar Assad of Syria to announce on March 5, 2005, his plan to bring his forces home." On April 26, 2005, after 29 years of occupation of Lebanon, the last Syrian troops left the country
The Shebaa Farms Issue
Shortly after the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, The UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, dispatched his special Middle East envoy, Terje Roed-Larsen, and a team of experts to meet with Israeli and Lebanese officials and verify that both sides were in agreement on the conditions required by Resolution 425. The UN team reported that the Lebanese Government informed the United Nations of its new position regarding the definition of its territory." The claim included that Israeli forces seized a piece of Lebanese territory during the Six-Day War, called Shebaa Farms, located on the western slopes of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights, and has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War with Syria, Egypt, and Jordan.
The Farms are presumed to be owned by the residents of the nearby Lebanese town of Shebaa. Before the Six-Day War, most Shebaa landowners and farmers lived in a Lebanese village of Shebaa. The Shebaa farms, a separate piece of territory, about 14 kilometers (8.7 mi) in length, and averages 2.5 kilometers (1.6 mi) in width, lie inside Syria. The farmers used to cross the land from Shebaa city in Lebanon to the Shebaa Farms in Syria. Its fertile, well-watered farmland formerly produced barley, fruits, and vegetable for 14 farms, but now desolate.
After Syria lost the land in 1967, the Lebanese farmers of the city of Shebaa were no longer able to commute and to farm the land at Shebaa Farms. Israel maintains that the Shebaa Farms was officially part of Syria when Israel occupied the region. Syria and Lebanon claim that the territory is in fact part of Lebanon, since Lebanon did not play a role in the Six-Day War, they claim, Israel must evacuate the territory in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions.
It is worth to mention here, that the 1949 Armistice Demarcation Treaty between Lebanon and Israel followed the pattern of demarcation that was instituted by Great Britain and France in 1923. Nevertheless, there was no official border between the two countries. On maps, the French clearly marked Shebaa Farms as Syrian territory, while marking the village of Shebaa, whose residents owned the farms, as the territory of Lebanon." In other words, the town of Shebaa is considered to be a Lebanese territory, while the Shebaa Farms is Syrian land.
During the 1950s and early 60s A joint Lebanese Syrian commission was formed to determine the border between the two nations. In 1964 the commission determined that the Farms belong officially to Lebanon. However, maps printed after 1964 did not incorporate the determination of the commission, the maps printer after that period rather shows that the Shebaa Farms are still Syrian territory. And in 1960, Syrian authority ordered the inhabitants of the Shebaa Farms to replace their Lebanese identification cards with Syrian ones.
The Lebanese government showed little interest in the views of the inhabitants. While the commission was conduction its work to determine the border identity, the Syrian Government maintained control over the Farms. In 1955, the Syrian military built an outpost on one of the farms, and military bases in the area.
Those military posts in and around the Farms confirmed the identity of the Shebaa Farms as Syrians. During the Israeli invasion of Syria in 1967, the territory was captured by the Israeli forces and remained occupied until this time. No Lebanese or Syrian newspapers or any other discussion about the identity of the Shabaa Farms as being Lebanese territory, nor was there any hint in the UN Security Council at the time by the Lebanese representative to this effect. At no time, prior to the Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, did the Lebanese Government claim the Shebaa Farms to be Lebanese.
In 1974, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) was established at Camp Faouar in Syria. Its mandate includes: (1) to supervise the cease-fire between Israel and Syria; (2) to supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces; and (3) to supervise the Areas of Separation and Limitation, as provided in the Agreement of Disengagement between Israel and Syrian forces of May 31, 1974. The UNDOF maintained the border with the Shebaa Farms as part of Syria.
In March 19, 1978, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 426 establishing the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquartered in Naqura, Southern Lebanon to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces from South Lebanon. The Lebanese Government made no attempt to claim the Shebaa Farms.
On May 4, 2000, three weeks after the withdrawal of the Israeli troops from Lebanon in compliance with Security Council Resolution 425 and 426, 1978, the Lebanese Government officially filed a grievance with Israel to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. He called the Lebanese move a new position". Lebanese officials claim, without giving an explanation, that in 1951, Syria had given the Shebaa Farms to Lebanon. They claim also that there is no record to such a transfer at the United Nations. In fact one senior Lebanese official stated that the Syrian transfer of Shebaa Farms to Lebanon occurred in the form of oral agreement" between the two countries and nothing was documented." In May 29, 2000, the Lebanese Newspaper, 'The Daily Star' described the land deed of one resident of the Shebaa Farms as handwritten and signed on a yellow piece of paper in pencil and ink." Furthermore, the Lebanese government presented the a forged land deed to the UN representatives date back to the 1940's, years before the alleged transfer took place, an indication of inconsistency on the part of the Lebanese Government.
There are documents from the 1920s and 1930s that indicate some local inhabitant in the region who considered themselves to be part of Lebanon. Some have even paid taxes to the Lebanese government. But the demarcations from that period under the French mandate show that the Shebaa Farms lie within the borders of Syria. Detailed maps produced by the French in 1933, and again in 1945 point out to the same conclusion. U.S and French archives leave no doubt that the Shebaa Farms belong to Syria.
All maps belonging to the period before 1967 save one, an apparent forgery, show the land as being on the Shebaa Farms on the Syrian side of the border. In fact, on February 13, 2006, a Lebanese newspaper Beirut Times article quotes a Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt, member of the Lebanese Parliament displayed and map and revealed that it was a fake map," with the boundary shifted. In an interview, the Druze leader said the following: The question of the Shebaa Farms was invented by Syria and Iran using Hizbullah as a pretense to have an armed presence in Lebanon. This must end."
Lebanese army map published in 1961 and 1966 indicate the Shebaa Farms area, including Zebdine, Fashkoul, Mougr Shebaa, and Ramta as being part of the Syrian territory and lie inside the border of Syria. Every single Syrian map and every single Lebanese Ministry of Tourism map show the Lebanese border runs west of the Shebaa Farms. These maps make it clear that the Shebaa Farms are in fact a Syrian land.
The UN Secretary General issued the following report, disputing the claims of Lebanon on the Shebaa Farms, he states the following:
'On 15 May 2000, the United Nations received a map, dated 1966 from the Government of Lebanon which reflected the Government's position that these farmlands were located in Lebanon. However, the United Nations is in possession of 10 other maps issued after 1966 by various Lebanese Government institutions, including the Ministry of Defense and the army, all of which place the farmlands inside the Syrian Arab Republic. The United Nations has also examined six maps issued by the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, including three maps since 1966, which place the farmlands inside the Syrian Arab Republic...'
Nancy Solderberg, a high-ranking official with the U.S. delegation to the UN, made a similar observation. She said: When it was clear the Israelis were going to withdraw fully from Lebanon, Syrian and Lebanese officials fabricated the fiction that this small, sparsely populated area was part of Lebanon. They even produced a crudely fabricated map to back up the dubious claim. I and United Nations officials went into the map room in the United Nations and looked at all the maps of the region in the files for decades. All showed the Shebaa Farms clearly in Syria.
Hizbullah's claim over Shebaa Farms
In June 18, 2000, the UN Security Council issued a statement confirming the identification of Israeli withdrawal, and noting that both sides would respect the Blue Line as identified. Moreover, the Security Council took note, with serious concern," of reports of violations by Hizbullah that had occurred since June 16, 2000, and called upon the parties to respect the line drawn by the United Nations.
On October 7 of that year, Hizbullah launched a daring attack into the Shebaa Farms and abducted three Israeli soldiers. In February 16, 2001, another attack was conducted by Hizbullah, it killed an Israeli soldier. In the meantime, the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Hariri was reassuring the world that there will be no more outbreaks of violence in south Lebanon. In an interview, he was quoted as saying: We have a clear agreement with our Syrian brothers in this matter...There will be no provocations on our part."
Hizbullah, founded in 1982 with the mission of expelling Israel from all Lebanese occupied land. The organization presents itself as being a charitable organization. It holds several seats in the Lebanese parliament, and two cabinet seats in the current Lebanese government of Prime Minister Fouad Seniora. Hizbullah is mainly funded by Iran and operates under the auspices of Syria.
The Lebanese Government allows Hizbullah's militia to act despite Security Council Resolutions which call for all militias in Lebanon to be disbanded. In fact the Lebanese Government maintains that Hizbullah is a national resistance group" and doe not fall under the requests of the Security Council.
Although Syria withdrew its forces from Lebanon in compliance with Security Council Resolution 1559, it still maintains control over Hizbullah. Syria uses the organization to force its will on Lebanon and to keep the Israeli forces engaged until such time comes when Israel ends its occupation of the Syrian territory
Hizbullah's critics charge it with simply using the issue to justify its existence as an armed force and to continue serving as an outpost of Iran's Islamic revolution. But would-be peacemakers say that if Israel relinquishes the area, Hizbullah will have no excuse to continue its armed role and could better be pressured to transform itself into a normal political party. This suggestion has been made by the Lebanese Prime Minster Fouad Seniora. In an interview with Aljazeera.net, the Prime Minister of Lebanon said his government cannot force Hizbullah to disarm as long as Israel continues to occupy the Shebaa Farms."
For Israel, the Shebaa Farms have little strategic importance and has always been subject to return to Syria in a peace negotiations. Israel might probably accept a pullback from the Farms if Syria formally ceded the area to Lebanon.
So far Syria has been supporting, verbally, Lebanon's claim to the area, but it has shunned any official redefinition of its borders because it still regards the territory of Lebanon, Jordan and Israel to be part of the Greater Syria that existed before World War One.
The Dispute under International Law
The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its prime function is to arbitrate international disputes. The court's decisions are binding, and its broad jurisdiction encompasses cases which the parties refer to it and all matters specially provided for in the Charter of the United Nations or in treaties and conventions in force. The court may be asked to give advisory opinions at the request of the General Assem
About the Author
Gabriel Sawma is a lawyer specializing in international law, mainly the European Union Law, the Middle East and Islamic Shariaa Laws. Authored many articles on private as well as public international law. http://www.gabrielsawma.blogspot.com; email: gabrielsawma@yahoo.com; author of "The Qur'an: Misinterpreted, Mistranslated, and Misread. The Aramaic Language of the Qur'an". Tel. 609-915-2237
Article Source: http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/The-Legal-Status-of-Shebaa-Farms-under-International-Law/50106