As Israel launches more and more cross-border raids into Syria’s Quneitra Govenrorate, troops are establishing checkpoints to harass locals. In addition to the checkpoints, troops are increasingly engaged in raids to capture young men, though exactly why they’re being captured is never all that clear.
On Sunday, IDF troops in southern Quneitra chased and captured three shepherds from the village of Bariqa, who were taken as their sheep were grazing in the countryside. The troops reportedly fired live rounds at the shepherds before their capture, and they’ve yet to explain why they were taken into custody in the first place.
On Monday, a pre-dawn raid on the town of Khadir Al-Bostan, capturing two other young men, and similarly providing no reason for the operation nor the detention. On Tuesday morning, the Israeli military vehicles entered Saida al-Golan and raided another civilian home, capturing yet another person.
IDF troops enter Quneitra Governorate | image from SOHR
While Israel has been conducting cross-border raids into Quneitra and setting up checkpoints for months now, the increasing use of summary detentions is a concern because The IDF rarely discusses their operations inside Syria and there are few indications what happens to Syrian civilians when they get taken.
This stands in contrast to IDF operations elsewhere, where spokesmen at least attempt to provide some pretense for the actions after the fact, and the Israeli media dutifully reports those narratives without question. In Syria, operations just happen and there is seemingly no oversight nor even attempts to mislead the public about the purpose of the operation.
Israel invaded Syria in December of 2024, more or less immediately after the ouster of the Assad government. Since then, operations have gone deeper and deeper into Syrian territory, though they only appear to be intent on permanently holding the former demilitarized zone between Syria and the occupied Golan Heights, and are demanding Syria create an entire new demilitarized zone between the old one and the capital city of Damascus.
