Three ‘Israelis’ enter Syrian territory overnight, returned by troops
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Three ‘Israelis’ crossed into Syrian territory overnight in the Jabal al-Shaykh (Mount Hermon) area and were quickly retrieved by the military’s troops before being handed over to police, the ‘Israeli’ army said in a statement on Tuesday morning.
Soldiers were promptly dispatched to locate the three and return them to ‘Israeli’ territory.
They were then transferred to the ‘Israeli’ police “for further handling,” according to the statement.
The military “strongly condemns such incidents,” describing the border breach as a “criminal offense” that “disturbs the soldiers’ operational activity in the area and puts them in danger,” the statement added.
The episode is the latest in a series of similar crossings, many linked to right-wing settler activists from the HaBashan Pioneers (also called Bashan Pioneers) movement.
The group, founded in 2025 and named after the biblical region spanning parts of modern Syria and Jordan, advocates establishing Jewish civilian settlements in southern Syria, particularly in areas under ‘Israeli’ military control since the fall of the Assad regime in late 2024.
In late July, three activists from the same movement crossed near Mount Hermon, were located after hours or a day in Syrian territory, returned by troops, and handed to police; some said they entered to lay tefillin.
Days earlier, two settlement activists crossed the same area, were retrieved, and transferred to police.
Earlier in July and in preceding months, larger groups attempted or succeeded in brief entries: nearly 100 activists were detained after reaching the Syrian side of Mount Hermon; dozens barricaded themselves in a building near a Syrian town; smaller teams spent nights in the area or cut fences to enter.
In one case, the ‘Israeli’ military observers nearly ordered an airstrike on five activists mistaken for infiltrators before identifying them.
Military officials have reported more than 150 suspects caught across roughly 16 attempts in recent months.
