Soldiers shoot man approaching Israel from Syria

IDF troops on Wednesday afternoon shot a man who approached the fence between Israel and Syria in the southern Golan Heights.

After shouts and a warning shot failed to stop him, the soldiers fired at his legs, the army said.

The man was taken by the UN to a hospital in Syria. While the organization confirmed that he had received a leg injury, it was unclear how badly he was hurt and what had prompted him to venture near the fence.

A senior defense source told Walla News that soldiers along the northern border were on high alert because of the ongoing tension and fighting within Syria. There is “an immediate response” to anyone approaching the fence, the source said.

In late 2012, there were several instances of mortar shells and bullets fired from Syria into Israeli territory. Those incidents have largely abated in recent months.

Israeli military officials believed that the intermittent fire into Israel from Syria was a spillover from intense fighting near the frontier between Assad’s army and rebel forces, and not a deliberate attempt to hit targets in Israel and draw it into the conflict.

The Golan Heights were captured by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War. In 1981, Israel annexed the territory.