UN Details Israeli Military Ties With Syrian Rebels

UN Observers Saw Israeli Troops Transfer 'Boxes' to Rebels

It’s not entirely a secret, since at times Israeli officials loudly brag about their close ties with Syrian rebel factions along the Golan frontier, but a new report from UN Observer forces provides more detail than previous available on the ties Israel is cultivating with them.

Included in the report are Israel letting rebels through the border to receive medical treatment inside Israel, something which has been well publicized. It goes well beyond that, however.

The report also details observers seeing Israeli troops handing mysterious boxes to armed Syrian rebels across the border. It is unclear what equipment was inside the boxes.

They also reported a series of tents being set up at the border between Syrian and Israeli Golan territory for the rebels, which the UN believes was primarily to house the families of Syrian military deserters, but which Syria has complained is being used as a base to transfer fighters back and forth into Israel.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.