In August, al Nusra Front jihadists took control of Syria’s side of the border crossing with Israel and kidnapped over 40 United Nations peacekeepers — who have since been released.
But al Nusra Front, an al Qaeda-affiliate, isn’t Israel’s only threat from Syria. President Bashar al-Assad’s military, in a possible effort to bait Israel into its civil war to shore up Arab sympathies, has been lobbing mortars across the border. Just a few weeks ago, the Israeli military shot down a Syrian plane flying over the Golan Heights — the first time it has done so since the 1980s.
Videos by VICE
In the final part of our series, VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky gets a perspective on the looming threat of the al Nusra Front from a special unit of the IDF — Bedouin trackers who specialize in protecting the border.
Read “The Syrian Regime Will Now Allow Desperately Needed Aid Into Rebel-Held Regions”
Read “Video Shows Israeli Drone Reportedly Downed in Syria”
Read “New Evidence Suggests Israel Is Helping Syrian Rebels in the Golan Heights”
Watch “A Fugitive and his Family: Escape to the Islamic State”
