Lebanon and The Syrian-Israeli Relations: an Analysis of Lebanon as a Microcosmos of The Middle East

The purpose of this article is to assert that the Lebanese conflict had its origins in the domestic situation of the country, but that became acute, crossed the threshold towards open war and finally reached a stalemate due to regional politics and specifically Syrian-Israeli relations, a dynamics that determines the future of Lebanon.Furthermore, the author states that despite the relative success of the Middle East Peace Process in the Palestinian and Jordanian fronts, the eventual resolution of the Lebanese conflict is intimately linked to the Syrian-Israeli dispute on the Golan Heights,and that meaningful achievements on both issues are pre-conditions to fully normalize the relations among the Arab states and Israel.