Fringe Israeli settler group is sneaking into Syria to try to claim land for a Jewish outpost

The border between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams is seen Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A right-wing Israeli activist holds a sign which reads “Its about time to settle in the Bashan”, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A metal board in the shape of a gunman sits on an old bunker at an observation point on Mount Bental in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

NAHARIYA, Israel (AP) — The Israeli military was about to launch a nighttime strike on a group of men in southern Syria when the soldiers noticed the long curls dangling from the temples of their targets. The troops held their fire.

These were not Syrian militants attempting to breach Israel’s border but religious Jews who had slipped into Syria and were on their way back.