Dozens of settler activists cross into Syria and Lebanon, are escorted out by IDF

Dozens of Israeli settler activists breached the borders into Syria and Lebanon on Wednesday before being escorted out by the military, the latest instances in which aspiring settlers have illicitly entered territory held by the Israeli army beyond its borders.

The activists who entered Syria said they barricaded themselves in a building on the outskirts of the Syrian town of Hader, declaring they would stay there until the Israeli government approves settlements in that country. The group calls itself the Bashan Pioneers, a reference to the biblical name of an area that spans parts of present-day Jordan and Syria.

Several settler activists also crossed the border into Lebanon on Wednesday before returning to Israel after a few minutes.

The activists aren’t the first to cross the border in hopes of building settlements in areas held by Israel. A movement on Israel’s right — backed by senior far-right figures in the government — supports reestablishing Israeli settlements in Gaza, and groups have repeatedly tried to enter the Strip to build outposts.

On Wednesday, Israel’s Independence Day, the Nachala settlement movement held a march and rally close to the Gaza border, under the banner of “The People of Israel are Returning to Gaza.”

Far smaller groups with much less public support have made moves to establish settlements in southern Lebanon, parts of which are controlled by Israel, and in Syria, where Israeli troops hold positions close to the border. They have repeatedly been removed by the army.

According to the IDF, on Wednesday, some 40 activists traveled about half a kilometer (550 yards) into Syria. Troops then took the activists back to Israel and handed them over to the police.

And in Lebanon, some 10 Israelis gathered near the border before crossing in. They belonged to the Uri Tzafon Movement, a Religious Zionist organization that has held virtual conferences calling for settlement in southern Lebanon, in areas it claims belong to the Jewish people.

“Three Israeli citizens crossed the fence and walked tens of meters into Lebanese territory, until they returned after a few minutes,” the military said, adding that troops stationed in the area detained those suspects and handed them over to the police.

The IDF said regarding the Syria breach that it “strongly condemns this incident and emphasizes its severity, constituting a criminal offense that endangers civilians and IDF troops.” It made a similar statement after the Lebanon incident.

Police in a statement noted that crossing the border illegally is punishable with up to four years in jail.

עשרות פעילי תנועת "חלוצי הבשן" הדורשים ליישב את המרחב הסורי הכבוש, מתבצרים כעת על גג בפאתי הכפר הדרוזי ח'דר למרגלות החרמון.
הם מכריזים כי ישארו במקום "עד שהמדינה תאשר לגרעין המשפחות של התנועה לבוא ולהתיישב בחבל הבשן שלנו". כוחות צה"ל במרחב פועלים להחזיר אותם לשטח ישראל. pic.twitter.com/o44n3ecQ9n

— יאיר קראוס (@yair_kraus) April 22, 2026

Footage of the Syria activists showed them standing on the roof of a building while dancing and singing, “Let us go up and possess it, for we can overcome it. The land is very, very good.”

The words are taken from a prominent passage in the biblical Book of Numbers, in which spies sent by Moses to examine the Land of Israel deliver a negative report, while two of the spies encourage the Israelites to take possession of the land.

The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries.

Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers (some nine miles) deep into Syria, aiming to defend the border and capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”

Members of the Bashan Pioneers have crossed into Syria several times since the buffer zone was established, and have also been stopped by the military before managing to cross the border. The IDF has condemned the crossings as a criminal offense.

In 2024, the IDF acknowledged that a group of settlers belonging to Uri Tzafon crossed the northern border and entered Lebanon, after initially saying that the activists had only set up an encampment near an Israeli border community.

After further investigation, the military confirmed that “the civilians did indeed cross the Blue Line by several meters,” close to the Lebanese village of Maroun al-Ras, adding that the group was dispersed after being identified by IDF troops.