Quneitra Governorate

Quneitra Governorate (Arabic: مُحافظة القنيطرة‎ / ALA-LC: Muḥāfaẓat Al-Qunayṭrah) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in southern Syria, notable for the location of the Golan Heights.

The governorate borders Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. Its area varies, according to different sources, from 685 km² to 1,861 km². The governorate has a population of 87,000 (at the 2010 estimate). The nominal capital is the now abandoned city of Quneitra, destroyed by Israeli settlers in 1974; the de facto capital is Ba'ath City, a planned town built to replace Quneitra city. Most of the governorate was captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and 1973 Yom Kippur War (called the October War in Arab countries) and now forms the contentious Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Syrian Civil War

Since the eruption of the Syrian Civil War, the Quneitra Governorate, including the UN-observed neutral zone, was subject to severe clashes between Syrian rebels and government troops, during which the rebels took control of much of the governorate.

Quneitra

Quneitra (also Al Qunaytirah, Qunaitira, or Kuneitra; Arabic: القنيطرة‎ al-Qunayṭrah) is the largely destroyed and abandoned capital of the Quneitra Governorate in south-western Syria. It is situated in a high valley in the Golan Heights at an elevation of 1,010 metres (3,313 feet) above sea level. Quneitra was founded in the Ottoman era as a way station on the caravan route to Damascus and subsequently became a garrison town of some 20,000 people. Today, strategically located near the ceasefire line with Israeli-occupied territory. Its name is Arabic for "the little bridge".

On 10 June 1967, the last day of the Six-Day War, Quneitra came under Israeli control. It was briefly recaptured by Syria during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, but Israel regained control in its subsequent counter-offensive. The city was almost completely destroyed before the Israeli withdrawal in June 1974. Syria had refused to rebuild the city and actively discouraged resettlement in the area. Israel was heavily criticized by the United Nations for the city's destruction, while Israel has also criticized Syria for not rebuilding Quneitra. It now lies in the demilitarized United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone between Syrian controlled territory and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a short distance from the crossing between the two sides, and is populated by only a handful of families. In 2004, its population was estimated at 153 persons, with some 4,000 more living in the surrounding areas of the former city. During the Syrian civil war, Quneitra became a clash point between rebel forces and Syrian Arab Army. As of 2014, it became controlled by the Syrian opposition.