Israeli forces continue to raid southwestern Syria on a daily basis, raiding towns and setting up checkpoints. This week, the increasing trend is for them to harass shepherds operating in the countryside of Quneitra Governorate.
On Tuesday, a shepherd was captured on the outskirts of al-Rafid, a Quneitra village. Israeli troops came, detained him, and took him back to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, providing no explanation of why.
It was a relatively short detention, because while at times Israel holds someone for a year or more, the shepherd was subsequently released on Wednesday, and once again the IDF provided no information either regarding his detention or his subsequent release.
IDF troops operating in Quneitra Governorate | Image from SOHR
That incident was resolved, but the trend continued on Thursday, with a report that Israeli forces were operating near the village of Ishah, notably only about a mile northwest of al-Rafid, and they stopped and assaulted another, different shepherd. His fate is unknown at this time.
Those villages in southern Quneitra are extremely reliant on agriculture, and herding is a big part of that. The shepherds are out in the countryside, grazing their flocks, and that puts them directly in the line of fire for the Israeli troops roaming the countryside on any given day.
Israeli forces also reportedly established a military checkpoint in the area of Quneitra near Om al-Edham, Locals were searched and IDs were checked by the Israeli soldiers, but no detentions were reported.
