IDF troops on Thursday identified approximately 15 Israeli suspects approaching the border fence with Syria in the northern Golan Heights. The troops apprehended the suspects, and they were transferred for further handling by the police.
The suspects were activists from the "Bashan Vanguard" Movement who travelled to the entrance gate to the city of Qunaitra in southern Syria, to "renew Jewish settlement in the Bashan region."
One of the suspects, Yosef Luria, who is married with two children, stated: "We came for the event today out of an understanding that settling the Bashan is basic for Israel's security. Our enemies in the Bashan are like our enemies in Gaza; they are waiting for the H-hour. The state needs to seize the moment and determine the security of the north through civilian settlement here in the Bashan."
In parallel to the activity in the field, other Bashan Vangaurd activists send a series of messages to right-wing cabinet ministers, including Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Gila Gamliel, and Yariv Levin, demanding the advancement of a Jewish civilian presence in the area.