<P> In 1917, the British defeated Ottoman Turkish forces and took control of Palestine, while France took control of Syria . In the carve - up of the Ottoman territories between Britain and France, it was agreed that Britain would retain control of Palestine, while France would control Syria . However, the allies had to fix the border between the Mandatory Palestine and the French Mandate of Syria . The boundary was defined in broad terms by the Franco - British Boundary Agreement of December 1920, which drew it across the middle of the lake . However, the commission established by the 1920 treaty redrew the boundary . The Zionist movement pressured the French and British to assign as many water sources as possible to Mandatory Palestine during the demarcating negotiations . The High Commissioner of Palestine, Herbert Samuel, had sought full control of the Sea of Galilee . The negotiations led to the inclusion into the Palestine territory of the whole Sea of Galilee, both sides of the River Jordan, Lake Hula, Dan spring, and part of the Yarmouk . The final border approved in 1923 followed a 10 - meter wide strip along the lake's northeastern shore, cutting the Mandatory Syria (State of Damascus) off from the lake . </P> <P> The British and French Agreement provided that existing rights over the use of the waters of the Jordan by the inhabitants of Syria would be maintained; the Government of Syria would have the right to erect a new pier at Semakh on Lake Tiberias or jointly use the existing pier; persons or goods passing between the landing - stage on the Lake of Tiberias and Semakh would not be subject to customs regulations, and the Syrian government would have access to the said landing - stage; the inhabitants of Syria and Lebanon would have the same fishing and navigation rights on Lakes Huleh, Tiberias and River Jordan, while the Government of Palestine would be responsible for policing of lakes . </P> <P> On May 15, 1948, Syria invaded the newborn State of Israel, capturing territory along the Sea of Galilee . Under the 1949 armistice agreement between Israel and Syria, Syria occupied the northeast shoreline of the Sea of Galilee . The agreement, though, stated that the armistice line was "not to be interpreted as having any relation whatsoever to ultimate territorial arrangements ." Syria remained in possession of the lake's northeast shoreline until the 1967 Arab - Israeli war . </P> <P> In the 1950s, Israel formulated a plan to link the Kinneret with the rest of the country's water infrastructure via the National Water Carrier, in order to supply the water demand of the growing country . The carrier was completed in 1964 . The Israeli plan, to which the Arab League opposed its own plan to divert the headwaters of the Jordan River, sparked political and sometimes even armed confrontations over the Jordan River basin . </P>

Distance from the sea of galilee to jerusalem