evidence: Why the Golan Heights is a Middle East flashpoint [...] But why is the Golan Heights in the firing line and what is the significance of the 460sq mile (1,200sq km) rocky plateau in southwestern Syria that also overlooks Lebanon and borders Jordan? [...] The Golan Heights were part of Syria until 1967, when Israel captured most of the area during the Six Day War, before occupying it fully, annexing it and applying Israeli law to the area in 1981.