International Desk //

Since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad government in the face of rebel operations, the occupying Israeli forces have begun strong military activity in Syria. The barbaric troops have entered 12 miles into the country. They have also increased the attacks.

They are not only focusing on airstrikes, but also on occupying one territory after another. They have already occupied several areas of the country. They have built at least nine military bases. They have also expanded roads, networks and other communication infrastructure. After Gaza, the Israeli forces have now occupied Syria. AP.

Rasm al-Rawadi, a small village near the city of Quneitra in the Syrian-Israeli buffer zone. On the night of December 8, the residents of the village suddenly woke up to the sound of gunfire and airstrikes. Then, the search began before dawn.

“The Israeli army started searching houses and destroyed some houses. Many families were put in a school,” said Ali al-Ahmad, a 65-year-old village elder.

The village has been under Israeli control for the past four months and about 350 people have been forcibly evicted from their homes, al-Ahmad said. Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially called the offensive in southern Syria “temporary,” Israel’s growing military presence suggests otherwise.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Israel Katz has said that Israel is prepared to stay in Syria indefinitely. Syrian lawyer and human rights activist Mohammed Fayyad said that “Israeli military officers are entering the village of Hamidiyeh in civilian vehicles under the pretext of delivering humanitarian aid.”

On February 24, Israeli forces also began attacking the cities of Quneitra and Daraa. The attack came just after the first national dialogue conference since the fall of the Syrian government, where political and religious leaders from all sects gathered to discuss the future of the country.

Omar Hanun, 47, from the village of al-Rafid, said Israel had torn down 100-year-old trees in the village of al-Asbah. They were also shooting anyone who came near them. “We do not recognize the occupying state. We are alone, but we will stay here on our land even if someone else controls us,” said Sheikh Abu Nasr, another resident of al-Rafid.

Bader Safi, a teacher at a local school in the village of Kodana, on the border with the occupied Golan, said, “Dozens of Israeli soldiers have seized the land of the residents there. They have been patrolling the town regularly with dogs. I don’t know how many times they have entered our village.”

He added, “The soldiers have also seized the land of a neighbor and friend of mine. He now lives in my house. He cries every day because he has lost everything.’

Another tactic Israel is using to justify its occupation is to claim the support of the Druze (the third-largest religious minority in the country, about 3 percent of the population) in southern Syria. Israel has relied on the loyalty of the Druze to make its presence permanent.

Israel is clearly trying to draw the Druze closer. On March 1, Netanyahu and Katz ordered the Israeli army to be ready to defend the Druze village of Jaramana in southern Syria.

“We will not allow the extremist Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime attacks them in Jaramana and beyond, we will respond,” Katz declared after reports of clashes in the Damascus suburbs.

Once a small area on the outskirts of Damascus, Jaramana is now home to more than a million working-class Syrians. So far, there have been no signs that the Israeli army will withdraw from the areas it has occupied in southern Syria. In fact, there are growing fears that the occupation will intensify.

Israel continues to consolidate its position and seize more land. However, after the attacks on Quneitra and Daraa, local people have begun to speak out against the Israeli offensive.

Protests against the aggression have taken place in various parts of Damascus, as well as in several towns and villages in Daraa, Khan Arnabeh, Suwayda and Quneitra. Even the Druze community has come together to reject offers of humanitarian aid.

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