IDF counters misleading Guardian report, says it is not letting civilians hike in newly seized Syrian territory

Countering a Guardian report, the IDF says it is not allowing civilians into newly occupied Syrian territory for hikes during Passover.

On April 3, following a misleading Ynet report, the IDF responded to a query by saying: “The trails in the Golan Heights are within Israeli territory, and are not in Syria. The trails that are being opened in the Golan Heights were open in the past, except for one trail, the Ruqqad River, located near the Hejaz railway, a route that was open years back. In preparation for Passover, the Northern Command, together with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, the Defense Ministry, and the local authorities, are reopening or opening for the first time trails for hikes in northern Israel. The opening of these routes is enabled following the creation of a security reality in the north that allows the routes to be opened to the general public.”

On April 6, the military in a press release said that during an assessment, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir “emphasized his instructions that the IDF will not allow civilians to go on hikes over the international border, but only in Israeli territory and in places where hikes were held in the past, in accordance with the security situation.”

Today, the IDF in a press release published a map showing the newly opened hiking trails, saying that, “in accordance with an assessment of the operational situation, the IDF will allow the reopening of hiking trails in the north of the country which during the war were defined as a closed military zones to the general public. Entry to trails that cross the border fence, in Israeli territory, is prohibited.”