Israeli soldiers detained two Israeli civilians on Monday after they crossed into the Syrian Golan Heights near Mount Hermon, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Troops dispatched to the area located the civilians, returned them to Israeli territory, and handed them over to Israel Police for further investigation.
The IDF "strongly condemns" The crossing, characterizing it as a "serious disruption" Of operations that "poses a danger to the safety of IDF troops." The military called on law enforcement to prosecute those responsible and prevent future occurrences of what it described as a criminal offense.
A security source indicated the frequency of such crossings has increased significantly. "In the past month, we had almost eight entries of people like this, which is a lot," The source said, noting that additional groups have been stopped before reaching the border beyond those eight completed crossings.
Israeli military observers recently halted an airstrike near Mount Hermon after determining the suspected infiltrators were activists from the HaBashan Pioneers settlement movement rather than a hostile force. The group has conducted multiple incursions in recent months with the aim of establishing Jewish settlements in the biblical Bashan region, which spans the Golan Heights and parts of southern Syria.