![WV Upper Galilee region in Israel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/WV_Upper_Galilee_region_in_Israel.png)
The Galilee Panhandle ( he, אצבע הגליל, ''Etzba HaGalil'' (lit. "Finger of the Galilee"), is an elongated
geopolitical
Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...
area or "
panhandle" in northern
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
comprising the northernmost section of the
Upper Galilee
The Upper Galilee ( he, הגליל העליון, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; ar, الجليل الأعلى, ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period. It originally referred to a mounta ...
held by Israel, and the northern
Jordan Rift Valley
The Jordan Rift Valley, also Jordan Valley ''Bīrʿāt haYardēn'', ar, الغور Al-Ghor or Al-Ghawr),, date=November 2022 also called the Syro-African Depression, is an elongated depression located in modern-day Israel, and Jordan. This g ...
. The Galilee Panhandle incorporates five municipal authorities. Towns in the Galilee Panhandle include
Metula
Metula ( he, מְטֻלָּה) is a town in the Northern District of Israel. Metula is located next to the northern border with Lebanon. In it had a population of . Metula is the northernmost town in Israel.
History Bronze and Iron Age
Metu ...
and
Kiryat Shmona
Kiryat Shmona ( he, קִרְיַת שְׁמוֹנָה, ''lit.'' Town of the Eight) is a city in the Northern District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley near the Lebanese border. The city was named after the eight people, inclu ...
.
The ancient site of
Tel Dan
Dan ( he, דן) is an ancient city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, described as the northernmost city of the Kingdom of Israel, and belonging to the tribe of Dan.
The city is identified with a tell located in Upper Galilee, northern Israel, kno ...
is located in the Galilean Panhandle.
Geography
![View from Mitzpe Liran](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/View_from_Mitzpe_Liran.jpg)
The Galilee Panhandle is a narrow strip of land running from the
Israel-Lebanon border in the far north to an imaginary line below the
Hula Valley
The Hula Valley ( he, עמק החולה, translit. ''Emek Ha-Ḥula''; also transliterated as Huleh Valley, ar, سهل الحولة) is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, which used to be Lake Hula, prior to ...
, approximately between the ''
kibbutzim''
Malkia
Malkia ( he, מַלְכִּיָּה) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located near the Lebanese border and Kiryat Shmona, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History
The village was es ...
and
Gonen, in the south.
History
In 1920, the
Sykes-Picot Treaty was amended to transfer areas of
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
ish settlement from the territory of the
French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate foun ...
to that of the
British Mandate for Palestine. From April 1924, the area came under British control. An agreement was reached which enabled cultivation on both sides of the border with taxes being distributed between the British and French mandate authorities. The boundary was problematic, strategically and politically, but harnessing water sources in this region was vital for the development of the country.
During
Operation Yiftah in April and May 1948, the Arabs living in the Galilee Panhandle and other nearby places were expelled by
Palmach forces (see "
Shia villages in Palestine").
Cross-border raiding and rocket attacks from Lebanon have been an ongoing problem for communities in the Galilee Panhandle In November 2011, rockets were fired into Israel, landing near the border. The incident was called "a dangerous reminder" of the
34-day war in 2006 against Iranian and Syrian-backed
Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
Israel claims rocket attack from Lebanon
/ref>
See also
*Geography of Israel
The geography of Israel is very diverse, with desert conditions in the south, and snow-capped mountains in the north. Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in Western Asia. It is bounded to the north by Lebanon, the nort ...
*Good Fence
The Good Fence (, romanized: ''HaGader HaTova,'' , romanized: ''Alsiyaj Aljayid'') was a term that referred to Israel's mountainous 80-mile northern border with Lebanon during the period following the 1978 South Lebanon conflict (during Lebanese ...
, an epithet for Israel's mountainous 80-mile northern border with Lebanon after the 1978 South Lebanon conflict
The 1978 South Lebanon conflict (codenamed Operation Litani by Israel) began after Israel invaded southern Lebanon up to the Litani River in March 1978, in response to the Coastal Road massacre near Tel Aviv by Lebanon-based Palestinian ...
*Upper Galilee Regional Council
The Upper Galilee Regional Council ( he, מוֹעָצָה אֲזוֹרִית הַגָּלִיל הַעֶלְיוֹן, translit. ''Mo'atza Azorit HaGalil HaElyon'') is a regional council in Israel's Upper Galilee region, bordered by the Mevo'ot HaH ...
References
{{North District (Israel)
Regions of Israel
Geography of Northern District (Israel)
Upper Galilee