The Levant has been fought over and invaded since humans first came out of Africa, India, China or wherever. It is fought over for the same reason that Ukraine is currently fought over. It is a crossroads between other, more powerful empires. Anybody with common sense would not find themselves very excited over all that sand and rock with comparably little arable land. These ancient tribal lands control trade routes which control how money and people flow. These petty wars always have been and always will be dreadfully sad.