Biodiversity in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip with the Gaza Strip, Israel, and the West Bank are located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally called the Levant. Israel is bounded on the north by Lebanon and on the northeast by Syria. Jordan lies to the east and southeast of the West Bank and Israel; Israel and the Gaza Strip are bordered on the southwest by the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and on the west by the Mediterranean Sea. The region is divided into three major climate zones: Alongside the major three, one microclimate zone are present: The climate is determined by the location between the
Lebanon–Syria relations French territorial mandate. France identified itself as a protector of Christians (in particular Maronites) throughout the region. To protect its power, France aimed to encourage “existing religious, ethnic, and regional differences within Syria”. Political unity would threaten France’s military and political establishment within Greater Syria. These divisions included the 1920 creation of Greater Lebanon as a mandate separate from Syria. France ensured that the largest religious group within newly created Lebanon was the Maronite Christians. The remainder of Syria (while titled as a unified Syrian state) was further divided into 5 separate political entities (State of Damascus, State of Aleppo,