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 A salient (also known as a panhandle or bootheel) is an elongated protrusion of a geopolitical entity, such as a subnational entity or a sovereign state. While similar to a peninsula in shape, a salient is most often not surrounded by water on ...

" 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 mountai ...

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 Metula ...

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, includi ...

. 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, know ...

is located in the Galilean Panhandle.

Geography

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 t ...

, approximately between the ''

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

im''

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 est ...

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""Th ...

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 fou ...

to that of the

British Mandate for Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordan, both of which had been conceded by the Ottoman Empire following the end of World War I in 1918. The manda ...

. 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 Operation Yiftach ( he, מבצע יפתח, ''Mivtza Yiftah'') was a Palmach offensive carried out between 28 April and 23 May 1948. The objectives were to capture Safed and to secure the eastern Galilee before the British Mandate ended on 14 M ...

in April and May 1948, the Arabs living in the Galilee Panhandle and other nearby places were expelled by

Palmach The Palmach (Hebrew: , acronym for , ''Plugot Maḥatz'', "Strike Companies") was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv (Jewish community) during the period of the British Mandate for Palestine. The Palmach ...

forces (see "

Shia villages in Palestine From 1923 to 1948, there were seven villages in Mandatory Palestine for which the population was predominantly Shia Islam, Shia Muslim (of Metawali creed). They were Tarbikha, Saliha, Al-Malkiyya, Malkiyeh, Al-Nabi Yusha', Nabi Yusha, Qadas, Hu ...

"). 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 Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

forces in Lebanon.Israel claims rocket attack from Lebanon
/ref>

References

{{North District (Israel) Regions of Israel Geography of Northern District (Israel) Upper Galilee

Geography

History

See also

References