level, that would link the Banias with the Yarmuk. The canal would carry the Banias's fixed flow plus the overflow from the Hasbani (including water from the Sarid and Wazani). This led to military intervention from Israel, first with tank fire and then, as the Syrians shifted the works further eastward, with airstrikes. On June 10, 1967, the last day of the Six Day War, the Golani Brigade captured the village of Banias. Israel's priority on the Syrian front was to take control of the water sources. After the local residents fled to Majdal Shams, the village was destroyed by Israeli bulldozers, leaving only the mosque, church and shrines. Hermon Stream (Banias) Nature Reserve In 1977, the Banias was declared a nature reserve by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, named Hermon Stream (Banias) Nature Reserve. It consists of two areas – the springs and the archaeological site, and the waterfall with a hanging trail. Misidentification as biblical Laish/Dan While Banias does not appear in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Medieval writers such as Philostorgius, Theodoret, Benjamin of Tudela and Samuel ben Samson incorrectly identified it with the biblical city of Dan (also known in the Bible as Laish), now known to be located at Tel Dan. Eusebius of Caesarea accurately places Dan/Laish in the vicinity of Paneas at the fourth mile on the route to Tyre. Eusebius's identification was confirmed by E Robinson in 1838 and subsequently by archaeological excavations at both Tel Dan and Caesarea Philippi. Notables from Banias Al-Wadin ibn ‘Ata al-Dimashki (d. 764 or 766) - an Arab scholar of the Umayyad era Further reading Water issues Water for the Future: The West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel, and Jordan By U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Inc NetLibrary, Jamʻīyah al-ʻIlmīyah al-Malakīyah, Committee on Sustainable Water Supplies for the Middle East, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) Published by National Academies Press, 1999 , Allan, John Anthony and Allan, Tony (2001) The Middle East Water Question: Hydropolitics and the Global Economy I.B.Tauris, Amery, Hussein A. and Wolf, Aaron T. (2000) Water in the Middle East: A Geography of Peace University of Texas Press, See also Confession of Peter, New Testament event from the region of Caesarea Philippi (Banias) List of places associated with Jesus Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem Water politics in the Middle East Notes References Bibliography al-Athīr, ʻIzz al-Dīn Ibn (Translated 2006) The