Enab Baladi – Amir Huquq
Israeli incursions in Quneitra (southern Syria) are no longer isolated military incidents; they have become a persistent pattern of violations that endanger residents’ daily lives and undermine local stability.
Amid the absence of any effective governmental role or civilian-protection mechanism, and caught between acquiescing to imposed realities or resisting them, Quneitra’s residents remain on the firing line, waiting for official policies to move beyond statements toward actions that guarantee safety and a sense of belonging.
The incursions range from intensive reconnaissance overflights to ground entries by Israeli army units into border villages, along with arrests and the erection of checkpoints. These actions have not only threatened public security but also dented residents’ sense of national belonging due to what analysts described to Enab Baladi as the state’s “fragile” presence in this strategic area.
Pressure and fragmented connectivity
“The Israeli incursions and military violations continue intensively along the Syrian border, especially near frontier villages such as Jabata al-Khashab, Kudna, Sida Golan, Asha, Rafid, Bariqa, Taranja, and others,” engineer Yasser Faheili, a Quneitra resident, told Enab Baladi, describing near-daily incursions.
“During these operations, Israeli forces search civilians’ homes and conduct surveys about humanitarian needs, such as the need for aid and family size. They often receive responses from locals demanding an Israeli withdrawal from their land and adherence to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement,” Faheili said.
He added that these practices go beyond reconnaissance, accompanying them at times with arrests and live fire, and with temporary roadblocks that hinder movement and fragment geographic connectivity between villages. This intensifies residents’ economic and psychological pressures, enabling Israel to expand control and weaken the capabilities of “local resistance.”
A climate of fear for residents
Daily incursions bring multiple forms of harassment through patrols and checkpoints, stirring anger among Quneitra’s countryside residents, who are calling for an immediate Israeli withdrawal, media worker Nour al-Hassan told Enab Baladi.
A Quneitra resident, who asked not to be named for security reasons, expressed deep concern about the deteriorating security situation. “Israel has created a state of fear for Quneitra’s residents. It raids on most days, arrests people, and sets up checkpoints at will. No force on the ground prevents it from overreach,” he told Enab Baladi.
He believes UN peacekeepers must be activated in practice and legal provisions adopted to compel Israel to withdraw from the land it occupied after the fall of the former regime, and to prevent incursions into Quneitra. Alternatively, the Syrian army should take over the Golan border, with a mandate to prevent these forces from reaching civilians.
He confirmed that residents’ responses to the incursions now vary: some have acclimated, feeling less worry, while others’ fears grow as incursions persist. Many avoid direct contact or leave their homes and villages for safer areas, such as Damascus and its countryside.
Israel has expanded its control since late 2024, following the ouster of Syria’s former regime, to include a 15-kilometer-deep security strip in southern Syria that now encompasses more than 40,000 civilians living under direct Israeli military control.
Military operations that violate Syrian sovereignty
Ongoing Israeli incursions in rural Quneitra are inseparable from Syria’s political landscape; they are tightly linked to its fundamentals.
Political writer and analyst Darwish Khalifa considers the repeated incursions to be military operations that violate Syrian sovereignty and target the area’s social, economic, and symbolic fabric.
Speaking to Enab Baladi, Khalifa said the incursions aim to strengthen security control along the Syrian border through patrols, temporary checkpoints, and house raids, in addition to near-daily arrests of young men in the affected localities. These practices violate Syrian sovereignty and have harmful effects on residents.
He pointed out that affected villages, such as Jabata al-Khashab and Beer Ajam, face movement restrictions that obstruct agriculture and trade, leading to economic losses, forced displacement, and home demolitions, thereby increasing psychological stress and poverty.
Weakening national belonging
Regarding residents’ reactions, Khalifa explained that locals oppose these incursions, as seen in protests and refusals of Israeli aid, even if they sometimes comply under military pressure.
Politically, he sees this reality aggravating people’s sense of abandonment by the Syrian government, which may weaken national belonging and push some to emigrate or seek local alternatives. Yet he notes these crises can also produce social solidarity and forms of local civil resistance.
As for solutions, he called for urgent official governmental action: “The authorities” should bring the issue to the UN Security Council, enhance international monitoring to document violations, support residents with economic assistance, and form local committees to coordinate with international organizations.
He also advised focusing on diplomacy and international pressure through official and media statements to isolate Israel, without military escalation that would endanger civilians.
Notable incursions over two months
16 October: Israeli army patrols advanced into several areas and villages in Quneitra countryside, including Jabata al-Khashab, Ain al-Bayda, Tal Krum, and al-Samdaniyah. 15 October: An Israeli army unit entered the village of Ofaniya and al-Samdaniyah al-Sharqiyah in Quneitra countryside, limited to searches only. 28 September: A 16-vehicle Israeli force advanced from Tal Abu Guithar toward Sida Golan in southern Quneitra countryside, raiding and searching civilians’ homes. 24 September: An Israeli army unit raided and searched several homes in Sida Golan without making arrests. 18 September: An Israeli army unit entered Eastern Tal al-Ahmar in the Quneitra countryside. Syria’s state channel “al-Ikhbariya” said Israeli forces conducted digging and erected earth berms at the site after entering the vicinity of Kudna. 17 September: More than 15 Israeli army vehicles entered Jabata al-Khashab, Ofaniya, and Khan Arnaba in Quneitra (southern Syria), arresting four young men before withdrawing.Israeli incursions threaten civilians and erode national belonging Enab Baladi.
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