Israel Bolsters Syrian-Border Perch

SAFED, Israel—Since the Assad regime imploded, Israel’s military has seized a strategic mountaintop in its contested border area with Syria and advanced on positions beyond it,reshaping the frontier potentially for the long term.

- Stephen Kalin, Anat Peled and Suha Ma’ayeh

The military's expanded perch on the peak of Mount Hermon, straddling the socalled disengagement zone, gives Israel clear sightlines to the Syrian capital, Damascus, 25 miles away.

Israeli troops and tanks, operating overtly in Syria for the first time in 50 years, have moved into southern Syrian villages below, where residents say they are trying to disarm the population.

The Israeli military recently set up infrastructure on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, including caravans, bathrooms and a kitchen, said Itamar Dorfman, an Israeli bus driver who said he has transported dozens of soldiers to military outposts in the newly seized part of the mountain. The Wall Street Journal reviewed geolocated photos he took of the area.

Israeli flags were spotted on parts of the mountain seized from Syria by United Nations observers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister visited the newly taken territory on Tuesday, taking photos and shooting videos.

The Israeli military didn't respond to a request for comment. Netanyahu said troops would remain in the buffer zone and on Syria's side of the mountain until "another arrangement is found that ensures Israel's security."