The Israeli army set up a military checkpoint on the Ofania, Khan Arnabeh road in Quneitra countryside (southwestern Syria) at dawn on Tuesday, May 12.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Quneitra said that an Israeli army patrol entered from the direction of the village of Ofania and set up a search checkpoint on the main road linking Khan Arnabeh toward the villages of Ofania and Jubata al-Khashab.
The patrol also fired illumination bombs in the area, while Israeli warplanes flew overhead.
The events coincided with the sounding of sirens in the occupied town of Majdal Shams over the presence of a drone, according to the correspondent.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the Israeli patrol consisted of several military vehicles and more than 30 personnel. It set up a temporary checkpoint between Ofania and Khan Arnabeh and searched passersby before withdrawing from the area, with no reports of arrests.
A force from the Israeli army also entered along a road linking several villages in Quneitra’s southern countryside.
The force, made up of five military vehicles, moved along the roads of the villages of al-Mushayda, al-Malaqa, al-Hiran, and Rafid, before withdrawing from the area.
Intensified Israeli Movements
Quneitra governorate witnessed several intensified Israeli military movements on Monday, May 11.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Quneitra said the governorate saw heavy flights by Israeli warplanes. An Israeli army patrol made up of several vehicles also entered the main entrance of the towns of Jubata al-Khashab and Taranja, searched passersby, and set up a temporary checkpoint.
The correspondent added that Israeli army forces fired several artillery shells around the village of Taranja, hitting agricultural land in the northern area near the barbed wire.
Israeli military activity in Quneitra also included completing fortification work by extending another barbed wire fence in the village of Asha, located inside the buffer zone in southern Quneitra countryside, in addition to continued excavation and fortification work in Bariqa in the southwestern countryside of Quneitra.
The correspondent said the shelling caused no casualties, suggesting that the activity falls within efforts to intimidate and frighten residents.
He added that the fortification work in the village of Asha is part of fortification work along the “Sufa” line, or the ceasefire area, and that the work is also continuing from the direction of the village of Bariqa in the southwestern countryside of Quneitra.
The Quneitra Media Directorate said the shelling coincided with the establishment of a military checkpoint at the entrance to Jubata al-Khashab in northern Quneitra countryside, including about 20 personnel and several military vehicles.
Quneitra governorate, located on the edge of the occupied Syrian Golan, has witnessed continued incursions by Israeli army forces into Quneitra countryside, amid search campaigns, raids, arrests, the setting up of road checkpoints, and expansion operations that included bringing prefabricated rooms to eastern Tal al-Ahmar.
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