The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed on Wednesday that it had exposed an established network of Hezbollah terror cells in border villages on the Syrian Golan Heights in recent months.
The Hezbollah plot, known as ‘Golan File’, at this stage mostly involves collecting intelligence and recruiting operatives, but also has weaponry in its possession, including explosives, light arms, machine guns and antitank missiles, according to the IDF.
Israeli intelligence officials said that the operation recruited men from villages on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, and that villagers were paid monthly wages and were involved in gathering intelligence to prepare for attacks on Israel. The recruits were instructed that their ultimate objective would be to attack IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians.
The IDF vowed to prevent the terrorist group from operating against Israel from Syrian soil.
Hezbollah as been trying to create a front on the Syrian Golan for years, but was unable to gain a sufficient foothold in the area until now. Syrian President Bashar Assad’s conquest of the border area this summer gave the regime-allied group an opportunity to again try to establish the necessary infrastructure with which it could threaten Israel near the border.
The IDF said in a statement: “The network is new and currently focused on becoming familiarised with the Golan Heights area. It is intended to eventually control teams of Syrian operatives who will launch attacks against Israel”.
Last month, Conservative parliamentarians in the House of Commons and House of Lords overwhelmingly supported Home Secretary Rt. Hon. Sajid Javid MP’s decision to proscribe Hezbollah as a terror organisation in its entirety.
