IDF arrests 14 Pioneers of Bashan members for crossing into Syria

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) arrested 14 members of the ‘Pioneers of Bashan’ movement after they crossed the border from the Golan Heights into Syrian territory on Tuesday. The IDF intercepted the group near Aloney HaBashan and escorted the civilians back into Israel to be handed over to police for prosecution.

The Pioneers of Bashan is an extremist group formed in April 2025 that advocates for Jewish settlement in parts of southwestern Syria. Movement leader Amos Azaria, a computer science professor at Ariel University, has expressed intentions to establish a ‘humanitarian corridor’ into the Syrian Druze enclave of Sweida by relocating local populations.

The IDF issued a strong condemnation of the incident, stating that such unauthorized crossings constitute a ‘serious disruption to operational activity’ and pose a direct danger to the safety of military forces operating in the sensitive border region. This event marks at least one of nine recorded illegal infiltrations by the group into Syrian territory.