France supports placing the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms in south Lebanon under U.N. administration, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

"A U.N. administration is a clear option that we support in principle," said foreign ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier.

The Shebaa Farms, a mountainous sliver of land rich in water resources measuring 25 square kilometers (10 square miles), are located at the junction of southeast Lebanon, southwest Syria and northern Israel.

Israel seized the Farms from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war when it captured the neighboring Golan Heights which it later annexed.

Ever since, the Farms have been caught in a tug-of-war over ownership. Lebanon claims them, with the backing of Damascus, while Israel says they are part of Syria.(AFP)