WhatsappThe northern front is no longer just a Lebanese problem. In a closed-door session of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Wednesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz delivered a sobering assessment that left no room for illusion: Israel is not heading toward any peace agreement with Syria, and the security situation on the Golan Heights is rapidly deteriorating.
“There are forces in Syria today that are actively considering invading the settlements in the Golan,” Katz warned committee members, according to multiple sources present. He then dropped an even more alarming detail: “The Houthis maintain a presence inside Syria and are examining the possibility of launching ground infiltrations into Israeli communities in the Golan Heights.”
Yes, the same Houthis who have been firing ballistic missiles from Yemen at Eilat for over a year are now, according to Israel’s defense establishment, positioning themselves just kilometers from Israeli homes on the Golan.
“This is part of Iran’s systematic effort to encircle us with a ring of fire,” a senior IDF Northern Command officer told the Jerusalem Post on condition of anonymity. “They failed to destroy us from Gaza, they are bleeding in Lebanon, so now Tehran is opening a third active front — this time from Syrian territory.”
The Houthi presence is only one piece of a larger, more ominous puzzle. Intelligence assessments shared with the committee reveal that Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) has dramatically expanded its armed footprint around Damascus in recent months, particularly in the Palestinian refugee districts of Yarmouk and surrounding areas. PIJ fighters, battle-hardened from Gaza and Jenin, now enjoy freedom of movement and weapons stockpiling inside Syria — a development that gives the Iranian-backed terror group a new strategic depth it has never had before.
Even more troubling: the Syrian government is not only tolerating this buildup but actively engaging with it. Damascus has appointed a dedicated envoy to maintain direct, high-level contact with Islamic Jihad’s leadership. When pressed by the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (Kan), a Syrian security source insisted: “There is no intention to allow any military action against Israel from Syrian soil.”
That statement, however, rings hollow in Jerusalem. “We’ve heard these assurances before,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a cabinet meeting last week. “Syria claims it won’t allow attacks, yet Iranian proxies are arming themselves under its nose. We judge states by their actions, not their press releases.”
On the ground, the IDF is wasting no time. In recent days, an Israeli patrol entered the village of Al-Ashah in the Quneitra countryside, just east of the Alpha Line, and delivered a blunt message to local residents: Israel will soon begin extensive excavation and fortification works immediately west of the village. Civilians were warned to stay clear of adjacent agricultural land.
“If anyone approaches the work area, we will open fire,” the patrol commander reportedly told village elders, according to residents who spoke to Israeli media. The move signals that the IDF is preparing defensive berms, anti-tank ditches, and new sensor arrays to counter exactly the kind of infantry infiltration Katz warned about.
Golan Regional Council head Uri Kellner welcomed the increased IDF activity but warned that time is short. “Every day that passes without reinforced shelters and upgraded roads is a day we are more vulnerable,” Kellner said. “The Houthis in Syria aren’t a theoretical threat — they are already here, and they have made clear they want to spill Jewish blood.”
For residents of communities like Merom Golan, Alonei Habashan, and Ein Zivan — towns that sit literally within sight of the new Iranian proxy deployments — the message from the defense establishment is clear: the quiet that followed the fall of Assad was only temporary.
“We will not wait for the next October 7 to happen on the Golan,” Defense Minister Katz vowed as he concluded Wednesday’s briefing. “Anyone who tries to cross this border with hostile intent will meet the full might of the Israel Defense Forces. The Golan Heights is Israel — forever — and we will defend every inch of it.”
As winter fog rolls over the volcanic plateau, the people living on its windswept heights know one thing with certainty: the next war may not come only from the north or the south. It may come from the east as well — and Israel is getting ready.
