Israel revealed on Friday the name of a Syrian officer who is assisting the Syrian Army in the Golan Heights and is offering aid to Hezbollah’s activities inside a demilitarized zone near the border.
“Bashar al-Hussein, a resident of Homs, is the commanding officer of the Syrian Arab Army 90th Brigade’s reconnaissance company and he serves as the main liaison between Hezbollah’s southern headquarters and the 1st Division of the Syrian [Arab] Army,” the Israeli army said.
It added that al-Hussein was cooperating with leading Hezbollah commander Jawad Hashem, apparently observing Israeli troops and collecting information for the group that Israel views a terrorist.
“As part of his job, Naqib Bashar accompanies various Hezbollah members and even coordinates the handling and repair of observation posts belonging to Hezbollah and sometimes even Iran,” military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a tweet.
Bashar “works in cooperation with Hezbollah and Iran, taking advantage of the difficult conditions in southern Syria and cynically abusing the locals.”
Also, Jawad Hashem’s father, known as Hajj Hashem, is officially tasked with leading Hezbollah’s efforts along the Syrian-Israeli border.
Israel said al-Hussein operated inside a demilitarized zone near the border, where the Syrian military is not allowed to operate under the 1974 ceasefire agreement reached between Jerusalem and Damascus.
“The Israeli forces are monitoring the developments on the other side of the border and anyone who tries to harm the security of Israel and its citizens,” Adraee said, adding that the Syrian regime is responsible for all activities carried out from its territory against Israel.
The Israeli army dropped flyers along the Syrian border to warn the citizens against cooperating with the militias and Syrian officers.
Since 2013, Israel has monitored the activities of Syrian officers operating for Hezbollah and Iran after it received photos revealing that several of them were conducting joint operations in the Syrian city of Qusayr along the border with Lebanon.