The status of (some) international borders

Recent events in which Palestinians protested the “Nabka” of 1948 have been widely reported as involving crossings of Israel’s international borders. However, in an interesting article in Haaretz, Gideon Biger explains that matters are not that simple:

Israel is an atypical state in that it does not have agreed international borders with all of its neighbors. That is especially true in the case of Lebanon and Syria. Israel and Lebanon are currently separated by the so-called Line of Withdrawal of Israeli Forces from Lebanon, agreed in 2000 between Israel and the United Nations and also known as the Blue Line. It corresponds in part with the international border demarcated by the English and French governments in 1923. In practice, there is currently no border between Israel and Lebanon. The situation on the border with Syria is more complex. …. (read the whole thing)