From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
14 settler activists cross into Syria before being retrieved by the IDF
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Fourteen Israeli settlement activists illegally crossed the border into Syria a short while ago, before being returned to Israel by the IDF, the latest in a series of such incidents.
The military says the 14 Israelis arrived near the border community of Alonei Habashan and crossed into Syria.
IDF troops who were dispatched to the scene located the activists, returned them to Israeli territory, and detained them, the military says, adding that they were handed over to the police for further handling.
Fourteen Israeli settlement activists illegally crossed the border into Syria a short while ago, before being returned to Israel by the IDF, the latest in a series of such incidents.
The military says the 14 Israelis arrived near the border community of Alonei Habashan and… pic.twitter.com/GoaChE5vAE
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 22, 2026
The activists are members of the Bashan Pioneers group, which calls for establishing settlements in southern Syria. There has been an increase in attempts by the activists to cross the border into Syria in recent months.
“The IDF strongly condemns the incident, which constitutes another serious disruption of operational activity and poses a danger to the safety of IDF troops operating in the area,” the military says.
The IDF adds that “law enforcement authorities are required to bring those involved to justice and to prevent those individuals from repeatedly engaging in this incident, which constitutes a criminal offense.”
No charges have been filed against the Bashan Pioneers members, and despite their illegal actions, they have also received support from some coalition lawmakers.
The group, in a statement this evening, says that “after we realized that there is support for the idea of legal Israeli settlement in Bashan, both from the political side and from actors on the ground, but that they are not enough to bring things to implementation, the activists decided to return and push from below, in the hope that we will soon reach actual settlement.”
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