Sixty Israeli incursions hit south Syria in just three weeks: Report
Tel Aviv is escalating military operations in occupied Syrian territory as negotiations for a security deal with Damascus stall
In a noticeable escalation, Israeli forces have carried out nearly 60 incursions into southern Syria in November so far, involving heavy shelling, arrests of civilians and combatants, the establishment of military checkpoints, and the bulldozing of roads and farmlands, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on 22 November.
SOHR noted “the absence of any deterrent” on the part of the Syrian government to “stop this escalation, reflecting the growing security challenges along the country’s southern border.”
The UK-based rights group reiterated its “firm call on the international community and all concerned parties to take immediate action to put an end to these ongoing assaults.”
On Friday, Israeli forces infiltrated multiple villages in Syria's central Quneitra countryside, including Umm Batna, Rasm al-Khawaled, Mushayrifah, and Al-Ajraf, state media SANA reported.
Citing local sources, Iraq’s Shafaq News reported that another Israeli patrol was seen in the villages of Al-Asbah and Al-Asha, also located in the southern countryside of Quneitra.
The new raids come on the heels of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s illegal visit to the occupied Syrian territory on the strategic Mount Hermon on Wednesday.
After helping topple former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and bring Syria’s new President Ahmad al-Sharaa to power in 2024, Israel occupied new territory and carried out hundreds of bombing raids in Syria, targeting depots, vehicles, and weapons sites. Israel's occupation of Syrian territory stretches back to 1967, when Israeli forces occupied the Golan Heights.
Now that Syria is weak, Israel appears to have no intentions of relinquishing its newly conquered territory, despite ongoing negotiations for a security agreement between the two countries.
Meir Masri, political analyst and professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, stated that negotiations have now stalled due to Israel’s unwillingness to withdraw from areas it captured inside Syrian territory following the fall of Assad.
Masri said, “I believe Israel is not prepared to withdraw from strategic positions it seized with great difficulty in exchange for promises or assurances from Damascus regarding its security.”
Reuters reported in September that negotiations had stalled after Israel requested what negotiators termed a “humanitarian corridor,” allowing access between Israel and the heavily Druze populated southern governorate of Suwayda. Syria reportedly rejected the request, calling it a breach of its sovereignty.
According to one source, Israel wants to maintain an aerial corridor to Iran via Syria, which would allow for future Israeli strikes on Iran.