QUNEITRA (Dispatches) -- Israeli forces detained a 
Syrian man before releasing him Wednesday during a new incursion into Quneitra province in southwestern Syria, according to SANA news agency.
They entered the village of Al-Muallaqa in the southern countryside of Quneitra, setting up a temporary checkpoint and searching passersby before withdrawing. The man was released several hours later.
The incursion followed similar operations on Tuesday in the villages of Maariya in the western countryside of Daraa and Al-Bassali in southern Quneitra.
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government on December 8, 2024, Israel declared the 1974 disengagement agreement void and moved into the UN-monitored buffer zone. Since then, Israeli violations have intensified significantly.
A UN commission investigating Israeli violations in Quneitra documented that Israeli forces have arbitrarily detained 47 Syrian civilians since December 2024, demolished 16 homes in Al-Hamidiyah following forced displacement of residents, and established nine forward military positions inside Syrian territory. 
The UN documented that Israeli violations have included over 1,000 strikes and 1,157 “incursions” into Syrian territory since December 2024.
Israeli forces have entered villages across Quneitra and Daraa provinces in repeated raids, with operations including arrests, land bulldozing, and shelling. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2824 in June 2026, reaffirming the validity of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and calling for both parties to “scrupulously and fully” respect its terms.
Syria’s new administration, led by president Abu Muhammad al-Jolani has struggled to maintain control amid widespread insecurity. Jolani leads Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group with origins in Al-Qaeda that the UK says it “no longer assesses to be an alias of Al-Qaeda”. However, the group’s violent past remains a concern.
Sectarian violence has erupted across the country since the regime change. In March 2025, over 1,000 people were killed in just two days as sectarian violence targeted the Alawite community, with around 830 Alawites reportedly massacred. 
Shocking footage showed uniformed militants savagely beating Alawite civilians, dragging them from their homes and executing them at point-blank range. Many soldiers at checkpoints reportedly carry Nusra flags rather than the new Syrian flag and openly refer to Alawites as “pigs”.
Saudi Arabia has emerged as a key supporter of Syria’s new administration, hosting Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Riyadh on Wednesday for talks with Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan. Jolani’s first foreign trip after coming to power was to Saudi Arabia, where he met Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia was among the main backers of opposition forces during the years of war on Syria, arming, funding, and sponsoring militant groups—including some of the most violent terrorist factions—in the effort to topple Bashar al-Assad. 
Analysts note that while Jolani seeks financial resources and international legitimacy, Saudi Arabia is cautiously engaging with Syria’s new government as part of broader regional rivalry with Turkey and the UAE.