The IDF has been observed in the Yarmouk basin collecting weapons from at least three Syrian communities. The Yarmouk basin lies at the border of Syria, Jordan, and Israel.
The Yarmouk basin is not a Druze area, so why is the IDF expanding into it? The reason is simple – by occupying the Yarmouk basin, the IDF can protect both the porous Israeli border at that point as well as the border with Jordan. Jordan’s King has said little about the maneuvers of the IDF within Syria - mainly because he knows that the IDF is essentially protecting Jordan by extending its buffer zone eastward as far as it can.
With the toppling of the Assad regime by Salafi Jihadists backed by Turkey, the Jordanian King fears that his country will be next. Israel move in the Yarmouk basin may not be permanent, but blocks off the area to Jihadists looking to infiltrate both northern Israel and Jordan.
IDF forces entered the village of Ma’ariyah in southern Syria in the Yarmouk Basin – which allows Israel access to al Wehda Dam, on the Yarmouk. Control over this dam essentially gives Israel control over the border crossing at that point with Syria and Jordan. None of this would have happened without the acquiescence of the Jordanian King. As Israel continues east, the IDF will eventually come face to face with the HTS and the Southern Operation Room. Only then will Israel see how far it truly can push to ensure Syria never poses a threat again.