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The Hasbani River (al-Hasbani; , Nahal Snir), also known as Snir Stream within Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
, is a tributary
Tributary

A tributary is a stream or river which flows into a Mainstem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body of water....
 of the Jordan river
Jordan River

The Jordan River is a river in Southwest Asia which flows into the Dead Sea. It is considered to be one of the world's most sacred rivers. It is 251 kilometers long....
. The Hasbani River derives most of its discharge from two springs
Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring is a point where groundwater flows out from the ground, and is thus where the aquifer surface meets the ground surface.Dependent upon the constancy of the water source , a spring may be ephemeral or Perennial stream ....
 in Lebanon
Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic , is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea....
, the Wazzani
Wazzani

Al Wazzani , also known as Arab Louaize, is a small Lebanon village in the Hasbaya District of the Nabatieh Governorate, just north of the Israel-Lebanon border, on the banks of the Hasbani River....
 and the Haqzbieh, the latter being a group of springs on the uppermost Hasbani. The Hasbani runs for 25 miles in Lebanon before crossing the border and joining with the Banias and Dan River
Dan River (Israel)

The Dan River is the largest tributary of the Jordan river, whose source is located at the base of Mount Hermon. The river is so named after the Canaanite city of Laish, which was captured by the Tribe of Dan during the Book of Judges....
s at a point in northern Israel, to form the River Jordan.






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The Hasbani River (al-Hasbani; , Nahal Snir), also known as Snir Stream within Israel
Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
, is a tributary
Tributary

A tributary is a stream or river which flows into a Mainstem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body of water....
 of the Jordan river
Jordan River

The Jordan River is a river in Southwest Asia which flows into the Dead Sea. It is considered to be one of the world's most sacred rivers. It is 251 kilometers long....
. The Hasbani River derives most of its discharge from two springs
Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring is a point where groundwater flows out from the ground, and is thus where the aquifer surface meets the ground surface.Dependent upon the constancy of the water source , a spring may be ephemeral or Perennial stream ....
 in Lebanon
Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic , is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea....
, the Wazzani
Wazzani

Al Wazzani , also known as Arab Louaize, is a small Lebanon village in the Hasbaya District of the Nabatieh Governorate, just north of the Israel-Lebanon border, on the banks of the Hasbani River....
 and the Haqzbieh, the latter being a group of springs on the uppermost Hasbani. The Hasbani runs for 25 miles in Lebanon before crossing the border and joining with the Banias and Dan River
Dan River (Israel)

The Dan River is the largest tributary of the Jordan river, whose source is located at the base of Mount Hermon. The river is so named after the Canaanite city of Laish, which was captured by the Tribe of Dan during the Book of Judges....
s at a point in northern Israel, to form the River Jordan. For about four kilometers downstream of Ghajar, the Hasbani forms the border between Lebanon and northern Israel.

The Wazzani's and the Haqzbieh's combined discharge averages 138 million m³ per year.. About 20% of the Hasbani flow emerges from the Wazzani Spring at Ghajar
Ghajar

Ghajar is an Alawite village on the Hasbani River and on the border between Lebanon and the Israel-controlled area of the Golan Heights....
, close to the Lebanese Israeli border, about 3 kilometers west of the base of Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon

Mount Hermon is a mountain in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its highest point is 2,814 m above sea level. This summit is on the border between Syria and Lebanon, and is under Syrian control....
. The contribution of the spring is very important, because it is the only continuous year-round flow in the river in either Lebanon or Israel.

Utilization of water resources in the area, including the Hasbani, has been a source of conflict and was one of the factors leading to the 1967 Six-Day War
Six-Day War

In the Six-Day War of June 5-10, 1967, Israel defeated the armies of the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. In Arabic, the war is called ....
. The Hasbani was included in the Jordan Valley Unified Water Plan
Jordan Valley Unified Water Plan

The Jordan Valley Unified Water Plan, commonly known as the "Johnston Plan", was a plan for the unified water resource development of the Jordan Valley....
, proposed in 1955 by special US envoy Eric Johnston. Under the plan, Lebanon was allocated usage of 35 million mcm annually from it. The plan was rejected by the Arab League
Arab League

The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organization of Arab states in Southwest Asia, and North Africa and Horn of Africa....
. Instead, at the 2nd Arab summit conference in Cairo
Cairo

Cairo , which means "the triumphant", is the Cairo and largest city of Egypt.It is the most populous metropolitan area in Egypt and is also one of the most populous in the world....
 of January 1964 the League decided that Syria
Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is an Arab-majority country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north....
, Lebanon and Jordan would begin a water diversion project. Syria started the construction of canal to divert the flow of the Banias
Banias

Banias is an archaeological site by the uninhabited former city of Caesarea Philippi, located at the foot of Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights ....
 river away from Israel and along the slopes of the Golan
Golan Heights

The Golan Heights is a contested, strategic plateau and mountainous region at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. The term Golan Heights actually has two separate meanings, one geography and one political:...
 toward the Yarmouk River
Yarmouk River

The Yarmouk River is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. It drains much of the Hauran. It is one of three main Tributaries which enter the Jordan between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea....
. Lebanon was to construct a canal from the Hasbani River to Banias and complete the scheme The project was to divert 20 to 30 million cubic metres of water from the river Jordan tributaries to Syria and Jordan for the development of Syria and Jordan. This led to military intervention from Israel, first with tank fire and then, as the Syrians shifted the works further eastward, with airstrikes.

In 2001 the Lebanese government installed a small pumping station with a 10cm bore to extract water to supply Ghajar village. In March 2002 Lebanon also diverted part of the Hasbani to supply Wazzani village. An action that Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon

is a former Israeli Prime Minister of Israel and military leader. Sharon served as Prime Minister from March 2001 until April 2006, though he was unable to carry out his duties after suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006, when he fell into a coma and entered a persistent vegetative state....
 said was a "causus belli" and could lead to war.