The Israeli occupation forces, who have invaded several Syrian villages beyond the buffer zone and Mount Hermon, appear to be preparing for a lasting stay in the territories, The Washington Post speculated, as earthmoving Israeli vehicles make their way across the Syrian border. 

Satellite images reviewed by The Post reveal over half a dozen buildings and vehicles within a fortified Israeli base, with a nearly identical site located five miles to the south. The two bases are connected by newly constructed dirt roads leading to the occupied Golan Heights. Further south, a cleared area—identified by experts as the possible foundation of a third base—is also visible.

Israeli occupation forces now move in and out of the buffer zone, which, under the 1974 ceasefire agreement between the Israeli occupation and Syria, was meant to remain demilitarized. However, the Israeli occupation has declared the agreement void following the collapse of the Assad regime. 

The two new construction sites appear to be forward observation bases, resembling those in the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan Heights, according to William Goodhind, an imagery analyst at Contested Ground. The base in Jubata al-Khassab is more developed, while the southern site is still under construction. Goodhind noted that the former offers better visibility for troops, whereas the latter has easier access to the region’s road network—an advantage that a potential third base on the cleared land farther south would also share. 

Satellite images also reveal a newly constructed road about 10 miles south of Quneitra, extending from the boundary line to a hilltop near the village of Kodana. This road provides the IOF with an additional surveillance position.

To establish the outpost near Jubata al-Khassab, Israeli occupation bulldozers have uprooted village fruit trees and other vegetation within a protected nature reserve, according to Mayor Mohammed Muraiwid, who considers this an occupation.  

Since entering Syria, Israeli occupation forces have set up checkpoints, blocked roads, raided homes, displaced civilians, and fired on protesters opposing the occupation. At night, patrols have been seen moving along back roads with their lights off before returning to base.  

“No one knows what they were doing. No one dares to ask,” said Budour Hassan, 55, as she gathered leaves for tea just yards from an Israeli occupation roadblock.

Is Syria's new government responding?

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, according to WP, seems notably absent from areas near the border, although Syria’s new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has stated his commitment to maintaining the 1974 agreement.  

“Maybe they have a deal with Israel we do not know,” said Hayel al-Abdulla, 77, a tribal leader in the small village of Samdaniya al-Gharbiya. When Israeli occupation forces blocked a road just south of Abdulla’s home with earth and rocks, he protested. “I told them this is not Gaza,” he said. “You can’t just block us in.”

The new Syrian administration has "no intention of confronting Israel," said the body's head Ahmad al-Sharaa previously.

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Fahd al-Masri, the head of the Syrian National Salvation Front and a spokesperson for the Free Syrian Army, told the Israeli newspaper Maariv had previously told Israeli media “We do not want a war with Israel.”

Al-Masri spoke with Baruch Yedid, the Arab affairs commentator of i24NEWS, thanking "Israel" for its "contribution" to the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"Without the blows you inflicted on Hezbollah and Iran, we could not free Syria," al-Masri said. He added, "Thank you, Israel. This is an Israeli victory, our brothers and neighbors."

In the same context, Yedid cited Abdul Jalil al-Saeed, described as the "former deputy Mufti of Syria," expressing optimism about potential "relations" between Syria and "Israel".

Fear of displacement & occupation take over Syrians

The Israeli occupation has claimed that part of its invasion of Syria is to seize weapons to prevent attacks on its settlements. However, Muraiwid debunked their claims, asserting that there were no weapons left. When Israeli occupation troops arrived in Muraiwid’s village, they demanded that residents hand over weapons left behind by fleeing regime forces, to which locals complied in an attempt to avoid different raids Israeli troops were conducting elsewhere.  

“They returned twice more. The third time they came, I told them even if we had weapons, Syria has a new government, and we will give them to our new government,” he added.

In 1981, despite international opposition, "Israel" annexed the parts of the Golan Heights it captured from Syria, arguing that the move was necessary to prevent Syrian shelling of farms in occupied al-Jalil, but the plateau was also crucial for "Israel’s" water supply, feeding the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River.

The buffer zone includes a dam at a reservoir that provides water to large areas of southern Syria, sparking suspicions among local residents that the Israeli occupation is attempting to seize water and other resources. 

Meanwhile, Israeli forces conduct foot patrols and raid homes, while a new Israeli base has cut off villagers from their grazing lands, forcing locals to buy more grain for their livestock, they report. “Everyone is worried, not only me,” Bakr said.  

Among their concerns is the fear of displacement. The regional capital, Madinat al-Baath, located a mile from the ceasefire line, was established by the Syrian government in 1986 for families displaced from the occupied Golan Heights during the 1973 war. Most of the 100,000 Syrians who lived on the territory captured by "Israel" were never allowed to return.

“We will not let the same thing happen again,” said Bilal Suleiman, head of the local municipality. “There is not a one-in-a-million possibility we will leave.”

Residents in the area reported that they were blocked from returning to their houses and neighborhoods, with one saying “Most people were allowed back, but they told me my house is a military zone.” He explained that he’s currently staying with friends in a nearby town with his wife and eight children, and had arranged for another farmer to care for his two cows and 15 sheep. Unfortunately, he had to let his dogs and chickens roam free, as there was no place to keep them.

Townspeople have even renamed the town fearing association with Assad's Baathist party, changing it from Madinat al-Baath [Baath City] to Madinat al-Salaam [City of Peace]. Qasem al-Mohammad, a resident, pointed at an Israeli tank in the village, saying "Maybe they didn’t understand the message."

Read more: Israeli troops to remain atop Syria's Mt Hermon indefinitely: Katz