Ein Gev, named after the nearby Arab village
Al-Nuqayb, came into being on 6 July 1937 during the
1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine as a "
tower and stockade" settlement, a common debut for many kibbutzim during that era, and quickly established itself as a viable community. The original settlers were immigrants from
Czechoslovakia,
Germany,
Austria, and the
Baltic countries. Using intensive cultivation methods, they developed banana plantations. They also fished the nearby Sea of Galilee. By 1947 it had a population of 450. Situated along a border shared with
Syria, Ein Gev was shelled during the
Battles of the Kinarot Valley and in other engagements during the
1948 Arab–Israeli War. Shooting incidents remained common for the next nineteen years. These dangers were only eliminated when Israel occupied the neighbouring
Golan Heights in the 1967
Six-Day War. Due to the fact it was situated in the
Israel–Syria demilitarised zone under the
1949 Armistice Agreements, Ein Gev was claimed by Syria as its territory during negotiations for a peace agreement in the 1990s. The Israeli government rejected the claim on the grounds that it was west of the
1923 border agreement between
Mandatory Palestine and the
French Mandate of Syria. File:עין גב - ביום העליה.-JNF043205.jpeg|Ein Gev first attempt at settlement 1920 File:העלייה לעין גב-JNF009857.jpeg|Ein Gev erecting tower 1937 File:עין גב - הנקודה הבנויה ועדר גמלים.-JNF044862.jpeg|Ein Gev 1937 File:עין גב - מפקד הנוטרים במקום.-JNF044861.jpeg|Ein Gev guards 1937 File:עין גב - ביקור פקידי ממשלה הממונים על היעור ביחד עם מנהל היעור של הקק"ל, מר יוסף ויץ, בסביבות עין גב-JNF009853.jpeg|Ein Gev visit by
Joseph Weitz 1942 File:Ein-Gev.jpg|Ein-Gev from Sea of Galilee, 1947 File:Ein-Gev ii.jpg|View of Ein-Gev from the East, 1947 File:Maats Ein Gev Pier.jpg|Ein Gev pier, c 1947 File:Ein Gev.jpg|
Palmach members working at Ein Gev, before the 1948 war File:Ein Gev i.jpg|Women from
Yiftach Brigade working at Ein Gev. 1948 File:Ein Gev - Al Samra - Al Hamma Demilitarized Zone.png|Ein Gev - Al Samra - Al Hamma Demilitarized Zone, per the
Israel–Syria Mixed Armistice Commission ==Economy==