Middle East & Africa | Pre-emptive occupation

Exploiting disarray in Syria, Israel grabs more of the Golan Heights

The incursions are neither justified nor necessary

Israeli forces operate at a location given as Mount Hermon region
Photograph: Reuters
|GOLAN HEIGHTS

THE ROW of square grey forts slung across the horizon is a reminder of the days when Israel prepared for an onslaught by Syrian armoured divisions from the Golan Heights. That last happened in the Yom Kippur War, in 1973, when the Syrian army almost broke through. That army was once one of the most powerful in the Middle East. Yet it has been many years since it was that formidable.

Explore more

Discover more

Nakuru human rights activists march in the streets while chanting slogans to demonstrate against rising cases of violence against women

Kenyan women are fed up with rampant sexual violence

A spate of horrific murders has fuelled a campaign to end femicide

Mohamed Abdelrhman of Sudan

Sudan’s football team wants to reach the World Cup

International support and canny management have helped the squad defy civil war


Demonstrators protest against Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu outside the court in Tel Aviv Tuesday Dec. 10, 2024. Neta

Binyamin Netanyahu is in court again in Israel

As he fights charges of corruption, his country’s democracy may suffer


What do Syria’s other rebels want now?

HTS could not have taken Damascus without their help. We sit down with a Syrian rebel commander

The fall of Bashar al-Assad is a blow to Iran

Will the weakened regime reform, or race for the bomb?

Protests have shut down Mozambique

The aftermath of a rigged election is threatening a social revolt