All of the comments in this thread thus far are asking the wrong question. Instead of debating whether Israel has a right to occupy, settle, or even annex conquered land, we should look to see WHY this has happened in the first place.

A simple look at the land in question provides a revealing look at the strategic importance of the region. The Golan juts out from NE Israel and looks over the important city Tiberias as well as the Sea of Galilee (the Kinnaret). The importance of this lake cannot possibly be understated. The sea of Galilee is the source of nearly all of the fresh water in Israel, directly from its shores but also as the principle source of the Jordan river. The Jordan river runs through Israel, Palestine (the West Bank), and Jordan and without it the entire land would be lifeless desert.

Now let's take a look at a map of Israel without the Golan heights.. Notice how the entire lake and eastern shore is part of Israel but the border stops right at the slope of the Golan. On three different occasions (1948, 1967, 1973) Syria used the Golan to inflict massive damage on Israel. In all three wars it was the scene of the toughest and bloodiest fighting. 1973 was particularly brutal as it was a war of genocide launched on the holiest day of the Jewish calender. After 1948, Israel withdrew from the Golan. After 1967, Israel withdrew from the Golan. But after 1973 they did not withdraw. At some point, it becomes justified to prevent part of another country from being used as a weapon of genocide. All it would take for Syria to drive every Israeli into the sea would be to launch a chemical weapon into the Galilee - something Syria have threatened to do. Given that Syria had (until 2013) the largest chemical weapon stockpile in the entire world, this was not a threat to be taken lightly. A chemical weapon would wipe out all of Israel AND Palestine.

I get that Israel has an ugly history of population displacement, brutal occupation, and bellicose foreign policy. I get that occupation of another country's sovereign lands is an affront to its dignity as a nation and a people. But we're not talking about occupation in an ideological sense here. We're talking returning Syria's single greatest weapon against all of the people in the Levant. At every single opportunity, Syria used this land to cause hardship to innocent people (like the slaugher of civilians in 1967 and 73) and has given every indication it would do the same in the future. I'm a big critic of Israel's occupation of land and peoples, but the particular issue of occupation of the Golan is very, very different. Let's take a step back from our ideological fervor and look at the real reason WHY Israel wants this land. After three wars of aggression against the Israeli state and the Jewish people as a whole (according to Syria's own rhetoric), I'm not sure I want to give them a 4th shot at genocide.