The Israeli army entered a village in southern Syria’s Quneitra province on Friday night and searched a number of homes before withdrawing, Syria’s state news agency SANA reported on Saturday, the latest in a series of escalations in the region.
SANA said that an Israeli army force consisting of 30 vehicles entered the village of Al-Asha and “conducted a thorough search of houses, and also stole money from some homes during the search operations.” The force later withdrew back into the occupied Golan Heights, the report added.
The incident comes amid a backdrop of increased Israeli military activity and reports of US-mediated security talks between Syria and Israel.
Earlier in the week, Syria’s foreign ministry condemned what it called the widest and most violent Israeli raids on its territory this year. On Wednesday, Israel launched 15 airstrikes on former military sites of the 1st Armoured Division in the Kiswah area, south of Damascus. The strikes also targeted Jebel al-Manea and military sites in Qatana, on the slopes of Mount Hermon.
On Tuesday, an Israeli drone strike in the city of Kiswah killed six Syrian army soldiers, according to Syrian state television.
Syria has repeatedly accused Israel of violating the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement and U.N. Security Council resolutions. On Monday, Damascus condemned Israel for establishing intelligence centres and military points inside “prohibited areas”.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Syrian foreign ministry also condemned Israeli forces for entering the town of Suwayseh in the Quneitra countryside and carrying out arrests, and for what it called its “unlawful” continued presence on the summit of Mount Hermon and in the buffer zone.
The ministry said “these aggressive practices represent a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and relevant Security Council resolutions, and pose a direct threat to peace and security in the region.” It called on the international community, particularly the Security Council, to “act urgently to put an end to these continuous violations.”
Responding to the accusations, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that army forces would remain on the summit of Mount Hermon and in the buffer zone to protect Golan settlements from what he claimed were “threats” coming from Syria, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Reports of security talks
The military escalations are taking place as Syrian and Israeli officials are reportedly engaged in US-mediated talks regarding the security situation in southern Syria.
According to a report in Independent Arabia, high-level Syrian sources said that Syria and Israel are set to sign a US-sponsored security agreement on 25 September. The sources added that the signing would be preceded by a speech from Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa at the UN General Assembly in New York on 24 September.
The sources indicated that the agreement would be limited to security matters aimed at halting tensions, rather than a comprehensive peace deal.
Two informed Syrian sources had previously stated that Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Paris to discuss security arrangements in southern Syria. A previous round of talks was held in Paris in late July but ended without a final agreement.
In a recent interview with Asharq Al-Awsat’s Majalla magazine, President Al-Sharaa said his strategy was to “zero out problems and resolve disputes.” He noted that the experience of the “Abraham Accords” could not be replicated because the circumstances between Israel and Syria differ from those of other Arab countries.
“We have the Golan, an occupied land,” he said, adding that the priority is a “return to the 1974 disengagement agreement or something similar, meaning stabilising the security situation in southern Syria under international supervision.”
