Motorbike-Riding Terrorists Killed in Strike Near Golan

Latest Developments

Two terrorists were killed in a southern Syrian village near the Golan Heights on September 21, in what Lebanese and Palestinian reports alleged was an Israeli airstrike. The two, whose names and affiliations were not immediately published, were riding a motorbike when it was hit by an explosion at Beit Jin, some 10 kilometers east of the Israeli Golan town of Majdal Shams.

Lebanese and Palestinian sources quoted in several media reports described the two as “operatives” with possible links to West Bank terrorism. Israeli officials declined to comment. Elsewhere on the Golan, Israeli tanks shelled two structures that the Syrian army had set up in violation of the countries’ 1974 disengagement agreement following the Yom Kippur War.

Expert Analysis

“While the details are still murky, this incident would appear to be the latest in Israel’s interdiction of Iranian-sponsored terrorism on the Golan. That the fatalities may have been involved in Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank would attest to Tehran’s efforts to orchestrate multi-front hostilities against Israel.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“With Iranian help, Assad weathered the calamitous civil war and is growing re-assertive in areas of Syria still under his control. However, the Assad regime is in no condition to fight a war with Israel. In provoking the Jewish state, Assad is carrying out the will of his Iranian patron against Syrian interests. Given the tripwire tensions, Israel must be vigilant against any new Syrian deployments — certainly those that breach the Golan buffer zone and could serve as cover for attacks.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“Syria’s blatant disregard of the 1974 disengagement agreement is evident. Additionally, the presence of Hezbollah in the area — along with its frequent use of Syrian military infrastructure to plan assaults on Israeli targets in the Golan Heights — strengthens the justification for Israel’s constant vigilance of the demilitarized zone.” — Joe Truzman, Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

Related Analysis

“Mapping Terrorism in the West Bank,” by Joe Truzman

“Iran Foments Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Jenin,” FDD Flash Brief

“IDF Conducts Major Operation Against Terrorists in Jenin,” FDD Flash Brief