The Israeli army returned 14 Israeli settlers on Tuesday, September 22, after they crossed the separation line between the occupied Golan Heights and the buffer zone in Syria.

IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Ella Waweya said on X that 14 Israeli settlers reached the Alonei HaBashan area, an Israeli settlement east of the occupied Golan Heights, and crossed the border into Syrian territory.

She said an Israeli army force arrived at the site, located the settlers, and returned them to Israel, adding that they were detained for further investigation by Israeli police.

Waweya said the Israeli army condemned the incident, warning that it “constitutes another case of serious disruption to operational activity that endangers Israeli forces operating in the area.”

She added that the Israeli army was calling on law enforcement authorities to pursue legal action against those involved to prevent them from repeating what she described as a criminal offense.

Not the First Attempt

The incident was not the first of its kind. On July 17, the Israeli army announced that it had detained a number of settlers after they crossed the border into Syrian territory from the Majdal Shams area in the Golan Heights, before returning them to Israel and handing them over to police.

A group of settlers also attempted to cross the border between July 5 and 9, with another attempt reported on July 14 near Mount Hermon.

On May 4, the Israeli newspaper *Israel Hayom* reported that Israeli army forces had spotted several Israeli citizens during the night after they crossed the border fence into Syria. The army returned them to Israel and referred them to police.

On April 22, the Israeli army announced that around 40 Israeli settlers had crossed the border into Syria after gathering near the border fence, entering several hundred meters into Syrian territory.

On February 16, the Israeli army also said its forces had spotted a number of settlers crossing the border fence into Syrian territory during the night.

The army said its forces returned them to the Israeli side and handed them over to police, describing the incident as a “criminal offense” that endangered civilians and soldiers.

Groups of settlers attempting to enter Syrian territory are linked to the Pioneers of Bashan movement, which calls for Israeli settlement in what it refers to as the “Bashan” region of southern Syria and for establishing settlements beyond the disengagement line.

Daily Arrests and Violations

Israeli arrests and other violations continue on a daily basis in southern Syria.

Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Quneitra reported that the Israeli army arrested a shepherd on Tuesday, September 22, near Rafid (Quneitra, southwestern Syria).

An Israeli army patrol had entered the western neighborhood of Rafid earlier Tuesday morning, near a United Nations position, and searched several civilian homes.

The Israeli army had also previously shelled the outskirts of villages in western rural Daraa.

Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Daraa said Israeli forces fired two illumination flares over Abidin (Daraa, southern Syria), then shelled the area between Jamlah and Abidin with five artillery rounds.

The correspondent confirmed that the shells struck agricultural land and that no casualties were recorded.