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The Israeli military detained several Israeli civilians in the Golan Heights this week after they attempted to cross into Syrian territory, the IDF said. The civilians were handed over to the Israel Police for further handling, according to the military, which described illegal border crossings as dangerous and a "serious offense."

The detentions are the latest in a series of similar incidents throughout July, including an earlier case in which around 100 activists from the HaBashan Pioneers settler movement were detained after crossing from the Israel-Syria buffer zone into the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.

Coverage comparison

Reports of the detentions emerged across several days and from different sources, with the IDF and the HaBashan Pioneers offering contrasting accounts of the events.

The military said it "strongly condemns" the crossings, saying such actions "divert IDF soldiers' attention from their operational activities" and "compromise security." In a statement, the IDF described the crossings as "a criminal offense that endangers civilians and soldiers," and said it expects disciplinary action against the suspects by Israeli law enforcement authorities.

The HaBashan Pioneers, a right-wing settler movement, accused the IDF of using "severe violence" during the detentions and of confiscating activists' phones despite their "complete passivity." The group said it had intentionally positioned itself in a mountainous area to make evacuation difficult, emphasizing that it wished to avoid violence.

Key claims

  • The IDF detained about 100 members of the HaBashan Pioneers movement after they crossed from the Israel-Syria buffer zone into the Syrian side of Mount Hermon on July 5.
  • The group says it attempted to establish a Jewish settlement in the area and that it has crossed the boundary "many times in the past."
  • The HaBashan Pioneers accused the IDF of using "severe violence" during the detentions and of confiscating their phones despite what they described as their "complete passivity."
  • The IDF said illegal crossings "divert soldiers' attention from their ongoing operational activities" and constitute "a criminal offense that endangers civilians and IDF soldiers."
  • The military said it has identified a recent increase in illegal border crossing attempts into Syria, both successful and unsuccessful. The incidents followed several similar ones, including one on the previous Monday.
  • The group said it intentionally positioned itself in a mountainous area to make evacuation difficult and that it wished to avoid violence.

Key claims

The HaBashan Pioneers, a settler movement, said its activists were detained after crossing from the Israel-Syria buffer zone into the Syrian side of Mount Hermon. The group said about 100 of its members were detained and that the IDF used "severe violence" to hold them, despite "complete passivity" from the activists. The IDF confiscated their phones, the group said.

The movement said it intends to establish an Israeli settlement in the area and claimed to have crossed the boundary "many times in the past." In a statement, the group said its actions come amid attempted attacks by what it called "Syrian terrorists" against northern Israeli communities, including within the buffer zone.

"If we do not integrate civilian settlement into the military grip, we may find ourselves in a situation similar to that along the Lebanese border," the group's statement said. "The right-wing government needs to show our enemies that Israel intends to stay." It added: "Eventually we will also reach Daraa, Quneitra and Abedin."

The group also said the events reflected "a slow but consistent deterioration and erosion of Israeli control in these areas by the terrorists and the hostile population in the area."

The IDF has not publicly responded to the group's allegations of violence during detention. The military said those detained were transferred to the Israel Police for further processing and that it expects disciplinary actions against the suspects from the authorities.