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The Good Fence (,

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

: ''HaGader HaTova,'' ,

: ''as-Siyaj al-Jayyid'') was a term that referred to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's mountainous northern border with

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

during the period following the

1978 South Lebanon conflict The 1978 South Lebanon conflict, also known as the First Israeli invasion of Lebanon and codenamed Operation Litani by Israel, began when Israel invaded southern Lebanon up to the Litani River in March 1978. It was in response to the Coa ...

, during the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

. At the time,

southern Lebanon Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa districts, the southernmost distr ...

was controlled by the

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

militias and the

South Lebanon Army The South Lebanon Army or South Lebanese Army (SLA; , ), also known as the Lahad Army () or as the De Facto Forces (DFF), was a Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-dominated militia in Lebanon. It was founded by Lebanese military officer Saad H ...

, as the

Free Lebanon State The State of Free Lebanon (, ) was an unrecognized separatist country in Lebanon. On 18 April 1979, Lebanese military officer Saad Haddad proclaimed the independence of a "Free Lebanon" out of the southernmost territory of Lebanon, amidst the ho ...

(1978–1984) and later the

South Lebanon security belt administration The South Lebanon security belt administration was a local provisional governance body in South Lebanon, in the South Lebanon security belt areas. It replaced the Free Lebanon State institutions and operated from 1985 until 2000 with full Is ...

Background

From the 1948

establishment of the State of Israel The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 (5 Iyar 5708), at the end of the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war phase and ...

until 1970, Israel's border with Lebanon was quiet to the point that farmers from the Israeli town of

Metula Metula () is a town in the Northern District of Israel. It abuts the Israel-Lebanon border, and had a population of in . History Bronze and Iron Age Metula is located near the sites of the biblical cities of Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and Ijon ...

farmed their lands in the Ayoun Valley inside Lebanon. In 1970, after their expulsion from

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

during

Black September Black September (), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat. The main phase of the fight ...

, the

PLO The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...

began taking control over southern Lebanon.

History

The beginning of the Good Fence coincides with the beginning of the civil war in Lebanon in 1976 and Israeli support for the predominantly-Maronite militias in southern Lebanon in their battle with the PLO. From 1977, Israel allowed the Maronites and their allies to find employment in Israel and provided assistance in exporting their goods through the Israeli port city of

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

. The main border crossing for goods and workers was the

Fatima Gate Fatima Gate, also known as the Good Fence Crossing, is a former border crossing between Lebanon and Israel. On the Lebanese side, it is close to the village of Kafr Kila, Lebanon, Kfar Kila and on the Israeli side, it is west of Metula. The crossi ...

crossing near

. This provided essential economic stability to the administration of the Free Lebanon State and the later South Lebanon security belt administration. Israel states that before 2000, approximately one-third of the ophthalmology patients at Western Galilee Hospital were Lebanese who crossed the border through the Good Fence and received treatment free of charge. The Good Fence ceased to exist with Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000 and disintegration of the South Lebanon security belt administration and the SLA militia.

References

{{Lebanon-poli-stub 1977 establishments in Asia 2000 disestablishments in Asia Lebanese Civil War South Lebanon conflict (1985–2000) Israel–Lebanon border Military alliances involving Israel category:Military alliances involving Lebanon Political terminology in Lebanon Political terminology in Israel

Background

History

See also

References