Israeli forces entered the Syrian village of Rafeed, south of Quneitra, on Friday morning, searching several homes before withdrawing after clashes with residents, the IDF said.
According to the military, dozens of Syrians gathered in front of the soldiers during the searches, prompting troops to fire warning shots into the air to disperse the crowd before leaving the area.
Syrian media claimed the soldiers were not only conducting searches but also “gathering information on residents” in the village.
Shortly after the incident, dozens of people gathered in the city of Douma, near Damascus, to protest what they called “ongoing Israeli violations in southern Syria.” Demonstrators carried signs opposing Israeli control in the border region, with messages proclaiming “the Syrian people are united.”
On Monday, protests erupted across Syria following remarks by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called for “the complete demilitarization of southern Syria from the new regime’s forces” and vowed to protect the country’s Druze population.
“We will not tolerate any threat against the Druze community in southern Syria,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israeli forces would remain stationed “in the Mount Hermon area and the buffer zone indefinitely.”
Demonstrations took place in multiple locations, including Bosra al-Sham, east of Daraa, as well as in Sweida and Quneitra. Footage from the protests showed demonstrators waving the Syrian flag and chanting slogans against Israel, Jews and Netanyahu himself.
A journalist from Quneitra province told Ynet that Netanyahu was trying to “provoke conflict between Sunnis and Druze,” claiming the Israeli leader was seeking to prolong the war in the region.
“The war in Gaza and Lebanon will eventually end, but he is doing everything he can to extend his rule in Israel by provoking Syria,” the journalist said. “After 14 years of war against Iran, Hezbollah and the Assad regime, another war cannot be ignited.”
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