Concerned about spillover from Syria’s civil war, Israel says it will build a fence in the Golan Heights along the line that has effectively served as the border since wars between them in the 1960s and 1970s.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently made the announcement, says he’s concerned about Syrian rebel groups that have succeeded in capturing areas close to the frontier. He says that building the fence, which would extend for more than 40 miles, is a precaution.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war, and subsequently annexed the territory, a move that no other nation has recognized. Syria has demanded that Israel return the territory, but at present it is home to about 20,000 Israelis.
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