The Golan Heights: a rich past, an unpredictable futureLocated just north of Lake Kinneret, overlooking the Huleh Valley in Israel and the Al Raquad Valley in Syria, lies a plateau that rises between 700 and 1,400 feet above sea level and is perhaps the most strategic piece of land in the Middle East, depending on one's point of view. (Jewish Virtual Library, 2001) Antiquities left behind by the Romans, Turks, Greeks and Mongols, to name just a few of the empires that conquered this region, date back centuries. This relatively small area of ​​land, roughly the size of Queens, New York, is approximately 40 to 45 miles long and 15.5 miles wide at its widest point, and controls the Kinneret , Israel's only lake and main water resource. (Bard, 2002) This highly controversial piece of land is called the Golan Heights. to the people of Israel. Israeli citizens, however, did not settle in the Golan until the First Temple period, which began in 953 BC. Half of the Israeli tribe of Menasseh settled in Transjordan and later named the region after another biblical city of the same name, Golan. (Web Golan) At that time, the city served as a refuge for criminals awaiting trial, which could also explain the city's name, since the word "golah" means exile. In 732 BC, the Israelis were exiled from the Golan by an Asyrian emperor, Tiglath-Pileser II, and did not return to Bashan until after 586 BC, when the Second Temple period began. From 732 BC to 586 BC, the Asyrian emperor populated the entire region with citizens from various parts of his empire. However, when the Israelis returned home, they lived peacefully alongside the non-Jewish residents. (Camera Media Report, 1995) The Golan Heights changed hands several times and was influenced by various cultures throughout the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and Talmudic periods from 65 BC to 636 AD. From 636 to 1516, during the Islamic conquest, also known as the Mamluk period, most of the Jewish settlements of previous periods disappeared entirely and the Druze were the main inhabitants of the Golan. The Druze still remain in certain areas of the Golan today. (Israeli government...... middle of document ...... published September 10, 2002. "Israeli response to the Arab League to hijack Jordan". Jewish Virtual Library. Excerpt from a speech by Levi Eshkil given on January 21, 1964. Retrieved September 10, 2002. .Kortenoeven, W. “What Makes the Golan So Vital to Israel” Christians for Israel Today Canada: 2000. .Nyrip, R. Syria? : a country study, Washington DC: American University, 1979. Orvedahl, J. The Middle East, 9th ed. Washington, DC: CQPress, 2000. "Peace Talkers Study Key Paper" BBC January 9, 2000. Retrieved September 11. 2002. Rabin, Yitzhak. Address to the people of the Golan Heights, June 10, 1992. (Quoted at http://www.golan.org.il/vip.html). 2002. .Wiesenhofer, H. Library of Nations: Israel London: Time-Life Books., 1986.