and end the occupation.

The government has been actively gathering all relevant documents proving that the Shebaa Farms belong to Lebanon so that it could send them along with the memorandum to the U.N. headquarters in New York, sources told An Nahar.

The government has asked France and Britain to help find historical documents and maps to support Lebanon's claim to the farms, which are still under Israeli occupation. Israel withdrew from Lebanon in May 2000 but stayed in the farms saying they are part of the Syrian Golan Heights that the Jewish state has been occupying since 1967.

The reason why France and Britain were selected to assist in the research is because the two states were granted mandates by the League of Nations over Lebanon, Syria and Palestine following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Lebanon and Syria say the farms are Lebanese, and therefore, support Hezbollah's claim that it is a resistance movement and not a militia organization. For this reason Hezbollah continues with its sporadic military attacks against Israeli troops stationed there.

Israel and the United Nations, however, say the area belongs to Syria and its fate is linked to U.N. Resolution 242 that calls on Israel to pull out from the Golan Heights.

According to sources familiar with the area, in 1967 Syria moved into the Shebaa farms to try and defend the Golan Heights. But Syria in the end lost the war and with it lost the Golan Heights and Shebaa farms. These same sources claim that the farms are owned by Lebanese farmers.

It will now be up to the UN to determine who owns Shebaa. Naturally a UN formal declaration that these farms are Lebanese will save the region a lot of headaches. Hezbollah then will be able to disarm since there will be no occupied land to resist occupation ... this is good for the whole region ... good for peace.

Sources: Ya Libnan, Naharnet