ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Israeli force raided homes and detained a Syrian citizen in the country's south on Monday, state media reported, the latest in a series of incursions Damascus says violate its sovereignty.
"An Israeli occupation force consisting of several military vehicles entered the village of Tranjeh in the northern countryside of Quneitra," the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported, adding that the "force raided and searched several civilian homes in the village before arresting a citizen, taking him into the occupied territories, and then withdrawing from the area."
The raid came a day after SANA reported that Israeli forces entered another village in the same area, raided a home, and detained a resident before releasing him and withdrawing.
Israeli forces have maintained a presence in parts of southern Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024, when Israeli armored units crossed the 1974 ceasefire line, entered the UN-monitored buffer zone, and pushed into parts of Quneitra province. Israel has since imposed curfews in border towns and declared the 1974 disengagement agreement void - a move Damascus has repeatedly condemned as a breach of its sovereignty and of the accord that established the buffer zone after the Arab-Israeli war.
Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa addressed the Israeli presence in an interview with Doha-based Al Jazeera aired Sunday, saying Damascus is seeking a negotiated arrangement rather than confrontation.
"Israel also has ambitions in the region. We shouldn't just overlook this aspect. We try to engage with them through reaching a security agreement," Sharaa said, adding that Damascus avoids "getting into clashes" with Israel.
Sharaa said a security agreement between the two countries would "pave the way for a second phase of discussions about a comprehensive peace," but stressed that any deal "must be without compromising Syria's right to the occupied Golan."
The border has grown increasingly volatile amid wider regional fighting involving Israel, Iran, and allied groups that has spilled across several neighboring countries.
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