New Israeli Incursion into Quneitra: Provoking the Emerging Political Landscape

Israeli forces carried out a new incursion on Thursday into the villages of Al-Samadaniyah Al-Sharqiyah and Al-Ajraf in the northern countryside of Quneitra, continuing a pattern of daily violations of Syrian sovereignty and international agreements.

According to the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), an Israeli military force consisting of three vehicles entered the two villages, established a temporary checkpoint near the destroyed water tank between the areas, and then continued to patrol the vicinity. This incursion comes just one day after a similar operation in the village of Al-Samadaniyah Al-Gharbiyah, where forces set up a checkpoint at a key crossroads.

Between Peace Rhetoric and Occupation Practices

This field escalation is not isolated. It fits within a dual Israeli policy; on one hand, its Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks of the "possibility of reaching an agreement" with Damascus, while on the other, the occupation's machinery continues its incursions, raids, arbitrary arrests, forced displacement, and the bulldozing of agricultural land in Syrian territory. This contradiction reveals, as discussed previously, an Israeli bet on creating new facts on the ground and testing the resolve of the Syrian transitional government, which champions a "Syria First" slogan and prioritizes reconstruction and stability above all.

This incursion serves several Israeli objectives:

1. Asserting Dominance: Cementing the idea of a "buffer zone" according to the Israeli vision and practically challenging Syrian sovereignty in a vital area adjacent to the occupied Golan Heights.

2. Negotiation Pressure: Attempting to impose a fait accompli and a power equation on the ground to pave the way for future Israeli demands, such as security control in southern Syria, ahead of any potential negotiations.

3. Exploiting the Phase: Taking advantage of the new Syrian government's preoccupation with reconstruction and internal consolidation, testing its reaction and that of its international allies, at a time when Washington declares its support for a "prosperous Syria."

International Silence and a Flagrant Violation

This all occurs under the watch of the international community, in an area supposedly governed by the 1974 Disengagement Agreement. This makes these operations a flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter, raising serious questions about the sincerity of international calls for stability amid practical silence over these daily breaches that threaten any glimmer of hope for peace.

The Region at a Crossroads

These incidents demonstrate that the path to any genuine peace in the region remains long and fraught. The true "Israel First" peace, which ensures its long-term security and future, is not achieved through more incursions and provocations, but through recognizing the rights of its neighbors and respecting their sovereignty. The Israeli leadership faces a historic test: to choose either the logic of force and short-term military posturing, or to seize the rare opportunity to build upon the stability of its Syrian neighbor and engage in a political process based on the principles of law and justice. The region's people, weary from the ravages of war, are watching. Time is not on the side of procrastinators.

This repeated tactic of localized ground incursions—as opposed to larger airstrikes—serves as a calculated message. It asserts a presence and a claimed right to operate within Syrian territory with impunity, while remaining below the threshold likely to trigger a major Syrian military response or force a drastic shift in its current strategic focus on rebuilding state authority. It is a form of pressure that is both physical and psychological, aiming to shape the environment before any formal diplomacy begins.

By Mohamed Hamdan