The key facts

  • An Israeli patrol advanced to the area west of the town of Al-Rafid in southern Quneitra; soldiers searched olive pickers and did not allow them to continue working
  • Near the village of Taranja in the north of the province, a fire broke out on farmland after smoke grenades were fired; the extent of the damage was not specified
  • In October, 125 incursions and 55 checkpoints were documented, and about 300 olive trees were uprooted in the area of Saida al-Hanout

New incursions into Quneitra: expelled pickers and fire in the fields

Israeli forces carried out new incursions into the southwestern Syrian province of Quneitra on November 11, Syrian state television reported, citing the official Alikhbaria channel. In the south of the province, an Israeli patrol advanced into the area west of the town of Al-Rafid: servicemen searched olive pickers, drove them off the fields and, according to the TV channel, 'did not allow them to continue working.' In the north of the province, Israeli troops fired smoke grenades toward farmland near the village of Taranja, sparking a fire. The TV channel did not specify the extent of the damage. The day before, on Tuesday, Israeli troops set up a checkpoint at the entrance to the town of Jaba al-Hashab in northern Quneitra, where they searched pedestrians.

October statistics and the context of the confrontation

According to Syria's official news agency SANA, Quneitra's media directorate documented 125 Israeli incursions and 55 cases of military checkpoints being set up in the province in October. Over the same period, the uprooting of about 300 olive trees was recorded in the village of Saida al-Hanout and west of the Hanout farm. Israeli forces regularly carry out incursions into Quneitra: they set up checkpoints, search homes, detain civilians and level farmland with bulldozers. After the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024, Israel expanded its military presence in the buffer zone between Syria and the occupied Golan Heights, advancing into parts of southern Syria in violation of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Damascus has repeatedly demanded the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Syrian territory, calling the incursions a violation of sovereignty and the disengagement agreement.