Quneitra

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This article is about a city in Syria. For a city in Morocco, see Kenitra.

The hospital of Al-Qunaytirah as it looks today.

The town of Al-Qunaytirah in September 2001

The governorate of Al Qunaytirah

Quneitra or Al Qunaytirah' (Arabic القنيطرة) is a city in southwestern Syria, capital of the Quneitra Governorate, which is now largely abandoned. It came under Israeli control as a result of the Six-Day War in 1967. It was briefly placed back under Syrian control during the Yom Kippur War, but Israel recaptured it. Since the "Agreement on Disengagement" signed on 31 May 1974, it lies in the UN-monitored demilitarized zone between Syria and Israel (UNDOF).

1 Religious importance
2 Destruction
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Religious importance

Tradition holds that Saint Paul passed through Qunaytirah on his way from Damascus to Jerusalem. The city was home to an important Greek Orthodox church until the Six Day War. Syria claims Israel destroyed and robbed the church [1], while Israel claims that the town, including the church, was destroyed by Syrian artillery during and before the Yom Kippur War [2].

Al Qunaytirah is also the name of a governorate of southwestern Syria that officially includes the Israeli portion of the Golan Heights. The legal status of the territories is discussed in International law and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

[edit] Destruction

The New York Times on October 21, 1973 referred to Quneitra as "a bombed-out military town the Syrians lost to the Israelis ..."[3]

In a "Report of the Security Council commission" established under resolution 446, Yassin Rikab, a witness called in by Mr. Najib Al Ahmad, Special Representative of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), testified about Israel's alleged destruction of the city before withdrawal: "At the beginning of June 1974, the witness had visited the city of Quneitra, where he saw a large number of Israeli bulldozers destroying the town and the surrounding areas." [4]

The General Assembly of the United Nations condemned what it saw as Israel's role in the destruction of the city in Resolution 3240 dated 29 November 1974.

Israel, on the other hand, claims that the town was destroyed by Syrian artillery before and during the Yom Kippur War.

Since 2005, Syria has pledged to reconstruct the city.