Israel’s army has occupied more areas of Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in 2024 [Getty]
Dozens of Israeli settlers belonging to the “Pioneers of Bashan” movement on Wednesday stormed the border between the Syrian village of Majdal Shams and Mount al-Sarakhat, and raised an Israeli flag over one of the village homes.
Majdal Shams has been occupied by Israel for decades, while Mount al-Sarakhat was taken and occupied by Israel after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.
The Israeli army, which controls the border area, chased the settlers away after they breached the fence from two points, Ynet reported.
According to an army statement, the soldiers and settlers clashed before some were arrested and returned to Israel.
The detainees were later transferred to the police for legal proceedings, over what the army described as a “serious incident and criminal offence that endangers civilians and Israeli military forces”.
The settler group posted a photo on X showing its members on a rooftop with the caption: “Without civilian settlement, even the military hold won’t last long-term. We’re here until they approve our families to enter and live here.”
According to the Ynet report, the “Pioneers of Bashan” movement aims to establish settlements across parts of southwestern Syria, including the areas recently occupied. The group has attempted several border crossings in recent months.
Amos Azaria, a settler from the occupied West Bank, told Ynet that he and his family, along with dozens of other settlers, went to the buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights last year, aiming to lay a foundation stone for a new settlement named “Naveh Bashan”. The name is taken from the Syrian city of Nawa in the country’s south.
Azaria claimed that Syria’s Druze population would be “happy” to have Israelis settle in the area, to allegedly protect them from Sunni “jihadists”.
