Israel fortifies its presence in seized Syrian territory
In the small Syrian village of al-Hamidia, some 50 kilometers southwest of Damascus, most homes, like that of sheep herder Abu Mo’ath, are built from black basalt stone, a hallmark of the region’s volcanic terrain. The air carries a scent of lavender and sage across the secluded rural landscape.
But over the past two months, life in the village has come to be defined by military occupation, with Israeli tanks and troops entrenching their presence on newly seized Syrian territory and laying siege to the area—destroying houses and critical infrastructure, erecting military outposts, restricting movement, displacing residents, and conducting arrests.
“We were displaced, then we returned home,” Abu Mo’ath, a 55-year-old father of five, told Drop Site News. “Our livelihood is hurt. Our lives are wrecked and our fate is unknown.”
Al-Hamidia is nestled in an internationally patrolled buffer zone in the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel. Israel seized most of the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war, eventually building illegal settlements and annexing the area in 1981 in a move unrecognized by the international community—except for the U.S. after President Trump sparked global criticism in his first term by officially recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019. A demilitarized buffer zone was established in 1974 between the annexed region and Syria, with UN forces tasked with monitoring the area.
After the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in early December, Israel launched a massive campaign of airstrikes across Syria, preemptively targeting and destroying huge sectors of Syria’s conventional military capacity, the very types of weapons and systems that all nations possess in order to defend their borders and sovereignty. The Israeli military also invaded deeper into Syrian territory, taking control of additional land in the buffer zone and beyond, including on Mount Hermon. Israeli officials have stated their intention to remain there indefinitely and troops in the area have continued to fortify their military presence, constructing runways and erecting military outposts and bases.
In the 14 Syrian villages that lie in this area, the lives of more than 35,000 people are now dictated by the Israeli military, with curfews, roadblocks, and house raids. [Continue reading…]