A handful of Jewish resettlement activists were arrested after crossing into Syrian territory on Sunday night, the Israel Defense Forces said.
IDF soldiers stationed in the border region returned the group to Israeli territory and detained 10 of them, according to a statement.
“The apprehended civilians have been transferred to the Israel Police,” the military stated. “The IDF strongly condemns this incident and emphasizes its severity, which constitutes a criminal offense that endangers civilians and IDF soldiers.”
Srugim, a news website catering to the religious Zionist community, reported that activists from the Bashan Pioneers group entered Syria to mark the Hebrew-calendar anniversary of the liberation of the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six-Day War.
The incursion was said to be the fourth within 24 hours and the 14th since the organization was founded.
“Will not give up and will not stop until the ‘right-wing government’ allows families who are interested to enter and settle in the Bashan in an orderly and legal manner,” Bashan Pioneers said in a statement, using the biblical name for the territory.
“With elections approaching, no one knows what tomorrow may bring,” it added. “The government must not allow the achievements of the war to evaporate.”
Some Religious Zionist activists seek a return to parts of Lebanon and Syria that were part of the ancient Land of Israel.
Israeli civilians are banned by law from entering designated enemy states such as Syria and Lebanon without authorization, with violations punishable by up to four years in prison.
