Become a Member
Israel

Israel rushes reinforcements to the Golan Heights as Syrian rebel refugees set up camp next to the border fence

Anshel Pfeffer visits the hills overlooking the Israeli-Syrian border to see the makeshift camps springing up on the other side

July 3, 2018 07:29
Displaced Syrian children from Daraa province stand by a truck lin a makeshift camp near the Golan Heights border
1 min read

GOLAN HEIGHTS — Israel rushed reinforcements to the Golan border region at the beginning of this week, leaving thousands of Syrian refugees on the other side resigned to camping out just next to the fence.

Their belief was that they would be safe there from bombardment by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and the Russian air force.

“We haven’t seen anyone trying to get all the way to the border fence,” an IDF officer said at an observation post overlooking two makeshift refugee camps which sprang up over the weekend.

“They also know that there are minefields next to the border and hopefully no one will risk crossing them.”