in a geopolitical framework, to maintain a military position in the region, and to keep a cultural influence. But as a result of pressure from the United States, the island was ceded unconditionally to Syria at the end of 1945, a decision confirmed in 1946. During the later half of the 20th century and the 21st century, the island's economy became more reliant on tourism, fishing and boatbuilding. This tourism focused economy was greatly impacted by the Syrian Civil War, due to the decreased travel to Syria. However, there has been no conflict on the island during the war, and it has been controlled by government forces since the beginning of the war. The COVID-19 pandemic has also affected the island's economy, further weakening the tourism industry, with many local businesses losing potential tourist related income. See also Arad, Bahrain Cities of the ancient Near East List of islands of Syria References and sources References Sources Malcolm Barber, Trial of the Templars Martin Bernal, Black Athena Writes Back (Durham: Duke University Press, 2001), 359. Lawrence I Conrad, ‘The Conquest of Arwād: A Source-critical study in the historiography of the early medieval Near East’, in The Byzantine and early Islamic Near East: Papers of the First Workshop on Late Antiquity and Early Islam, edited by Averil Cameron and Lawrence I Conrad, Studies in late antiquity and early Islam, 1, vol. 1, Problems in the literary source material (Princeton: Darwin Press, 1992), 317–401. Alain Demurger, The Last Templar Hazlitt, The Classical Gazetteer, p. 53. Lebling, Robert W. 2016. "Arwad, Fortress at Sea". Aramco World. January February 2016. Volume 67, no. 1. Pages 34–41. Newman, Sharan (2006). Real History Behind the Templars. Berkley Publishing Group. . Jean Richard, Les Croisades Sylvia Schein, "Gesta Dei per Mongolos" Dave Eggers, Zeitoun External links L'île d'Arwad, Suggestion to have Arwad recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site, in 1999 Hazlitt's Classical Gazetteer Hundreds of pictures of the island Google Earth location Small Islands in the Near East http://www.tartous-city.com Syrian Ministry of Tourism Arwad Regeneration Programme Populated places in Tartus District Phoenician cities Mediterranean islands Islands of Syria Hebrew Bible cities States and territories established in the 2nd millennium BC Archaeological sites in Tartus Governorate Populated coastal places in Syria Towns in Syria Castles and fortifications of the Knights Templar Castles and fortifications of the Kingdom of Jerusalem Former kingdoms Arwad