Activists cross border aiming to establish settlement in Syria; IDF brings them back

A group of settler activists, along with their young children, crossed the border into Syria earlier today in an attempt to establish a new settlement.

The military says troops were dispatched to the scene, across from the border town of Alonei Habashan, after several civilian vehicles were seen crossing into Syria.

“IDF troops at the scene returned the civilians safely to the territory of the State of Israel after a short time,” the military says, adding that they were called in for questioning by police.

“The IDF emphasizes that this is a grave incident that constitutes a criminal offense and endangers the public and IDF troops,” the army adds.

i24news first reported the case, identifying the group of activists as the “Bashan Pioneers,” named after the biblical name for the Golan Heights and southern Syria region.

According to the report, the organizers planned to stay inside Syrian territory, with their children, for a prolonged period, and establish a new settlement named “Nave Habashan.”

תיעוד: קבוצת משפחות חצתה את הגבול לסוריה בניסיון להקים יישוב בשם "נווה הבשן"

https://t.co/h1P1oZ4zQm pic.twitter.com/8lI075o6ee

— ערוץ 7 (@arutz7heb) August 18, 2025

Since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December, the IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria, mostly within the UN-patrolled buffer zone.

In December, a group of settler activists entered Lebanese territory — in an area under Israeli control at the time — in an attempt to set up a settlement, before being cleared by the IDF.

"חלוצי הבשן": קבוצת יהודים עברו היום את הגדר של גבול סוריה ושתלו עץ במקום, מספר משתתפים עברו גם את המכשול של צה"ל והוחזרו על ידי חיילים pic.twitter.com/vzBbJSPjz6

— שיראל ללום נהיר???????? (@shirellaloom) August 18, 2025

Support for Jewish settlement in Syria and Lebanon remains very small, and no politicians or major figures outside of fringe settler groups have called for their establishment.

This is in contrast to calls throughout the ongoing war to settle Gaza, an idea that has relatively broad support from much of the Israeli far-right, most notably Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, both of whom have repeatedly advocated for the idea.