Israeli activists illegally cross into Syria to lay cornerstone for new settlement

A group of Israeli activists crossed the Israel-Syria border in order to lay the cornerstone for a new, illegal settlement named "Neveh Habashan."

A group of Israeli civilians illegally crossed into southern Syria on Monday to perform a “cornerstone laying ceremony” for the first new settlement named “Neveh Habashan,” the Uri Tzafon movement announced.

The group, made up of families and young adults, is part of an activist organization calling itself the "Pioneers of the Bashan," said the movement.

After receiving a report about several Israeli vehicles crossing into Syria, the IDF detained the group and returned them to Israel for questioning, the military told Walla.

The family of St.-Sgt. Yehudah Dror Yahalom, who served in the Golani Reconnaissance Unit and fell in southern Lebanon in October 2024, also participated in the event. The family planted flowers and established a memorial corner in the settlement for Yahalom.

In the “Pioneers of the Bashan” WhatsApp group, the activists claimed that the newly crowned Neveh Habashan is located near Tell al-Hara, diagonally across the border from Alonei Habashan, “within what was once the 'buffer zone.”

Activists call for future settlement in the region

The activists further clarified that the event took place without military or government support, explaining that they hope this initiative will help rally support for future settlement in the region.

"The Bashan is our ancestral land," wrote the activists. "We see the empty expanses of our land calling us to return and settle it. We call on the Israeli government to remove the enemy from all areas of the Bashan and allow the pioneers to settle there!"