Israeli forces abduct two men in southern Syria in latest assault

Israeli forces abducted two young men from the village of Sa’soun in western Daraa province in Syria, as they passed by a military post west of the town of Maariya on Sunday evening, The New Arab’s Arabic language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

Local sources said that Israeli forces opened fire on the young men while they were riding a motorcycle while on the way to visit relatives in the area, before detaining them.

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed noted significant Israeli military activity in the area, with Israeli forces setting up advance posts and fortifications, bulldozing land in the area and preventing local people from approaching.

Since the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad fell in December 2024, Israel has repeatedly violated a 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria, seizing land in the demilitarised zone near the Golan Heights - Syrian territory it occupied in 1967 - and beyond.

The Israeli army said its forces had detained “individuals suspected of terrorist activity” in the area and were conducting operations targeting weapons depots in the area between Jordan, Syria, and the occupied Golan Heights.

Separately, Syrian security forces on Sunday discovered a warehouse containing 1.7 million Captagon pills in a town in eastern Daraa countryside, and one suspect involved in drug trafficking was arrested. Local sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the drugs were prepared for smuggling into Jordan across the southern border.

Despite Israel’s ongoing incursions into Syria, there has been speculation recently that the two countries could reach a peace agreement by the end of 2025.

However, on Monday Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ruled out any Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights, which Syria has insisted on as a condition of any peace treaty.