Israeli authorities are contending with a series of cross-border incursions by small ideological groups attempting to promote Jewish settlement in southern Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip — actions officials say endanger the activists and the soldiers tasked with retrieving them.
The incidents have increased during periods of reduced fighting, as right-wing activists push long-standing visions of establishing settlements beyond Israel’s borders. Police and military officials have made multiple arrests in recent weeks.
Activists trying to cross into Gaza
One newly formed group, “Pioneers of the Bashan ,” established in April, crossed from the Golan Heights into the buffer zone in Syria about two weeks ago at two separate points. The activists clashed briefly with soldiers near Mount Hermon before being detained and returned to Israel. Police later arrested six suspects and intend to pursue charges. Arabic media also reported the unusual incident, highlighting the activists’ demands to establish settlements inside Syria.
Supporters held a small Jerusalem gathering the next day, attended by right-wing figures including Moshe Feiglin and far-right activist Baruch Marzel. Group members claim a historic right to the Bashan region and recently attempted to perform a cornerstone-laying ceremony for a proposed settlement called “Neveh HaBashan” in southern Syria’s Daraa province.
Another organization, “Awaken North – The Movement for Settlement in South Lebanon,” an officially registered NGO named after fallen soldier Israel Sokol, promotes Jewish settlement in southern Lebanon. Its activists have held events along the northern border and briefly attempted to establish a foothold near Maroun al-Ras before being removed by troops. In June, the group launched balloons and drones carrying evacuation leaflets into Lebanon, declaring the area “land of Israel.”
On Wednesday night, nine Israeli activists breached the Gaza perimeter fence near the Black Arrow monument and advanced several hundred meters into the strip, stopping short of the military’s designated “yellow line,” which IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has referred to as the new operational boundary. Troops used illumination rounds to locate the group and extract them. Among the nine was a minor.
Police said the activists entered a closed military zone and put both themselves and soldiers at risk. At a Thursday hearing in Ashkelon, a judge noted the “dangerousness” of the act but ordered their release under heavy financial guarantees to prevent them from approaching the fence again.
One participant, Yosef De Brassard, a far-right activist previously filmed assaulting left-wing demonstrators in Jerusalem, bears a tattoo of the banned Kach movement’s emblem.
Despite the detentions, activists said they intend to continue efforts to reestablish Jewish communities in Gaza and claimed that a larger group could remain longer. They stated their goal was to reach the ruins of the former Gush Katif settlements and establish a permanent outpost.
The incident comes as right-wing ministers and lawmakers intensify pressure on Defense Minister Israel Katz to allow a Hanukkah flag-raising event at the site of the former settlement of Nisanit in northern Gaza, evacuated in the 2005 disengagement. Defense officials have indicated the event is unlikely because the area remains a closed military zone.
In a letter to Katz, lawmakers argued that “victory in the war will be achieved only by taking territory” and turning it into a “flourishing Jewish region,” calling Gaza “part of the Land of Israel.” Likud branch leaders made a similar request earlier this week, saying the area is “secure and fully under IDF control.”
Israeli authorities have not approved any such activity. Police and the IDF continue to warn that unauthorized crossings into Gaza, Lebanon or Syria create immediate danger and disrupt military operations.