The Israeli group Pioneers of Bashan, which advocates Jewish settlement in southern Syria, on Thursday called for the exploitation of territory captured by Israel in Daraa and Quneitra governorates, according to Middle East Eye. The group said on X that about 2,000 tons of wheat were harvested this year in the Quneitra District, and argued that the land would yield more if worked by Jewish settlers rather than what they called 'Hamas-supporting Sunnis.' The movement was founded in April 2025, months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government.
The Pioneers of Bashan, a settlement-advocacy group founded months after the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, has publicly called for the cultivation and sale of crops from land Israel captured in southern Syria. In a post on X reported by Middle East Eye, the group claimed that roughly 2,000 tons of wheat were harvested in the Quneitra District this year, and argued that Jewish settlers would produce higher yields than the local Sunni population.
The call marks a radical escalation from prior advocacy: previous settlement movements have focused on calling for new outposts in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza (The Zioneer, June 19) and for civilian settlement in southern Lebanon (June 9). The Pioneers of Bashan's statement is the first time a group has explicitly urged the commercial exploitation of agricultural produce from occupied Syrian territory, according to the report.
Middle East Eye, the sole source for this report, characterized the call as an advertisement for the sale of stolen Syrian goods. The story has not been corroborated by Israeli or Syrian official sources, and the IDF has not commented on the group's activities or the status of agricultural land in the area.
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