Israeli troops continue to carry out cross-border raids into southwest Syrian villages, particularly in the Quneitra Governorate, as their invasion and occupation of that frontier near Golan continues.
Two ground raids were reported against two Quneitra villages on Monday, with a third raid Tuesday into al-Malaqa. The story is always the same, troops show up on the outskirts, smash up some farmland, then enter the village and start entering and searching civilian homes, confiscating weapons and anything else that suits their fancy. Computers and mobile phones are known targets, as are binoculars.
Reports also are that Israeli troops have been offering food handouts in the villages they raid, though reportedly the locals are mostly distrustful and refusing them. Israel invaded Syria in December after the ouster of the Assad government, and has been moving deeper in recent weeks into both Quneitra and Daraa Governorates.
Israeli drones are an increasingly common sight over SW Syria | Image is Creative Commons 3.0
A separate incident was reported in which an Israeli drone was downed in the Quneitra area, and shrapnel wounded an eight year old child. This is just the latest casualty to result from the Israeli incursions, though the IDF has not commented.
Quneitra has another problem related to the Israeli invasion, drought. The area hasn’t been getting a lot of rain this year, and mostly is reliant on irrigation from dams that Israel has subsequently seized control over.
Moreover, Israel has sent bulldozers into northern Quneitra and leveled large swathes of forest around Jubata al-Khashab. Local growers have expressed concern that the exacerbation of the drought by Israeli actions, including the lack of water from the dam will drop their fruit yields more than 50% this year.
Ironically, as all this is ongoing Israel has confirmed “direct normalization talks” with the ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria. Israeli officials have suggested the military operations aren’t on the table for such negotiations, however, with Tzachi Hanegbi indicating that Israel wouldn’t withdraw from the Hermon area of Syria even in the event or normalization.
