Middle East: The Water War

Cautiously an Israeli patrol advanced along the narrow gravel road, sweeping for mines. Immediately to its left were the bubbling springs that form the headwaters of the River Dan. A few feet to its right, a white plastic ribbon marked the Syrian border. From the grey stone hills beyond, two shots rang out, and suddenly the whole area erupted into battle. Syrian mortar shells fell on three Israeli villages; Israeli jets bombed two Syrian settlements. Altogether, 10 people were killed and 37 wounded.

It was one of the worst outbreaks of Israeli-Arab violence since the 1956 Sinai-Suez crisis, and it...

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