Israeli Forces Arrest Ten Israelis After Dozens of Israelis Incursions Into Syrian Territory

On Sunday evening, the Syria–Israel border saw a series of incursions carried out by dozens of Israelis toward Syrian territory, described as the fourth attempt within one day and prompted by settler groups, according to Israeli media.

The Israeli army announced the arrest of ten Israeli civilians after they were returned from inside Syrian territory, saying its forces operating in the area had returned the Israelis before handing them over to the Israeli police.

Al Jazeera

The army also said it "condemns these dangerous actions, which constitute a criminal offense and endanger civilians and soldiers," and the Times of Israël quoted the army saying "more than ten settler activists crossed the border into Syria illegally."

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, Kan, said this was the "fourth time in the same day that activists from the Roowad al-Bashan group attempt to cross the border," as the group calls for establishing Jewish settlements in southern Syria.

The same report linked the moves to an ongoing Israeli military escalation inside Syrian territory, including dozens of strikes on military sites and the erection of checkpoints beyond the disengagement line, along with nearly daily arrests of Syrians in border areas since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime at the end of 2024.

Israeli forces reportedly carried out raids in several villages on the Syrian side of the border in the Quneitra and Daraa areas, where Syrian media said at least one person was arrested.

According to Syrian television, an Israeli army patrol entered the village of Taranga this morning, burst into several houses, arrested one of the villagers, and then retreated to its military base.

Al-Jazeera Net

The Times of Israël said the Israeli soldiers were also said to have searched dwellings in the border villages of Kuwaya and Maariya, as well as in another small farming village, while the Israeli army offered no comment on the raids.

In the Quneitra countryside, Hassan Ahmed described the night his nephew called from Jabata al-Khashab, saying "The Israeli army is surrounding the alley and the house," before gun muzzles and laser beams were aimed at windows and doors.

Al-Jazeera Net reported that during the raid, young men were dragged away blindfolded and handcuffed, joining a list of Syrians disappeared in Israeli occupation prisons, with figures indicating that 214 Syrians have been detained and 46 remain in Israeli prisons, according to the Sijil Center.

Al-Jazeera Net said Syrian detainees face an unknown fate inside Israeli cells due to a policy of opacity, including deprivation of contact with families or visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The report said that, according to the Sijil Center, the situation is legally classified in the Israeli system under the framework of "isolated administrative detention," or under the 'illegal combatants' law applicable to open detention.

It added that this legal cover allows occupation authorities to extend the prison term continuously and delay bringing detainees before judges for long periods, while withholding "secret files" and evidence from prisoners and their lawyers.

Khaled Khalil, described as an expert on Syrian-Israeli relations for Syria Now, said these arrests are "kidnapping operations and war crimes and violations of the rules of international humanitarian law," because they constitute a clear attack on civilians in a sovereign land.

The same article said Damascus stated that engagement in security talks with Israel, mediated by the United States, "has not yielded tangible results on the ground," as Ibrahim Alabi, Syria's permanent representative to the United Nations, affirmed last Wednesday.