Israeli forces have abducted four young men after infiltrating the Quneitra countryside in southern Syria, in a new violation of the country’s sovereignty.
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency SANA, an Israeli unit made up of five military vehicles established a checkpoint at the al-Kasarat junction on the road linking the towns of Jbata al-Khashab and Ain al-Bayda.
The agency said Israeli soldiers stopped vehicles, checked the identities of people passing through the area and detained four men from Jbata. They were then taken to the al-Hamidiyah location.
The abductions come after Israeli forces staged three incursions into the Quneitra countryside on Tuesday, despite reports that a new round of negotiations between Damascus and Tel Aviv had begun under US mediation.
Those talks are said to be focused on reviving the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, which governs the separation of forces along the ceasefire line.
Israeli forces have been carrying out near-daily incursions into Syrian territory in recent months, particularly in the Quneitra area.
Syrian media have reported repeated detentions of civilians, the establishment of temporary checkpoints, questioning of residents and the destruction of agricultural land.
Following the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime in late 2024, Israel expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarised buffer zone, a move Syria has said violates the 1974 agreement.
