Several settler activists breach border into Syria, are returned to Israel by IDF

Several settler activists breached the border into Syria in the central Golan Heights a short while, before being located and returned to Israel by IDF troops, the military says.

The IDF says the suspects will be handed over to the police for questioning.

“The IDF strongly condemns the incident and emphasizes that this is a grave incident, constituting a criminal offense that endangers civilians and IDF troops,” the military adds.

Members of the same group of activists, calling themselves the “Bashan Pioneers” — after the biblical name for the Golan Heights and southern Syria region — have crossed into Syria several times in recent months. Yesterday, several activists were stopped by the army before managing to breach the border.

The group says it seeks to build Jewish settlements inside the IDF-held buffer zone in southern Syria.