By Samah Abdul Fattah | 2023-11-12

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its affiliates in Syria are recruiting Syrian youth with the aim of "igniting" the southern border with Israel while hiding their involvement in any escalation, local activists said.

The ramped up recruitment in Syria is intended to give the international community the impression that Syrians -- not Iran and its militias -- are carrying out military activity in the Golan Heights, they said.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, officers of the IRGC and Lebanese Hizbullah have been carrying out a large-scale recruitment campaign, Sweida activist Nizar Bou Ali told Al-Fassel.

This is being conducted in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, the southern province of Daraa and on the outskirts of the southwestern province of Sweida, as well as in the Damascus hinterland, he said.

The recruitment is taking place under the guise of "supporting the Islamic resistance in Gaza," Bou Ali said, "with the aim of mobilizing the largest number possible of elements in the southern Syria region, i.e., the Golan front."

Recruitment has been conducted at cultural centers, mosques and husseiniyas.

New recruits are being primed "to join the battle that Iran sees as an essential and existential battle that will determine the future of its presence in the region," he explained.

But response to the recruitment drive has been tepid, he said, despite "the employment of the usual slogans and old methods, that claim to 'support jihad,' and 'come to the aid of Muslims,' among others."

Syrians from these regions "do not trust the IRGC at all, stemming from their experience with the IRGC over the past years," he added.

"Hizbullah and the IRGC are mobilizing their forces in the area opposite the Golan region," Bou Ali said.

As for the so-called Syrian Front for the Liberation of the Golan, he said, it is merely a media cover for Hizbullah and its activity in the Golan region "to give the impression that Syrians are the ones facing off against Israel."

Activity in border area

Quite a bit of activity has been observed of late in southern Syria, in the vicinity of Daraa and on the edge of the Golan region, Daraa activist Jumaa al-Masalmeh told Al-Fassel.

"Dozens of trucks were seen arriving in the region," he said. "It also was observed that many military centers have been completely vacated, which indicates the implementation of a plan to ignite the Golan front."

Provoking conflict on the Golan front is intended "to relieve pressure on Gaza by opening a new front" to Israel's north, he said.

It is very clear that the IRGC, via Hizbullah in particular, "aims to ignite the border area in the Golan with drones and random missiles used by Hamas, with the aim of relieving pressure on Hamas by opening several fronts against the Israeli army, similar to what is happening in southern Lebanon," he said.

Hamas terrorists on Monday (November 6) fired 16 rockets from Lebanon towards northern Israel, the group's armed wing, Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, announced, saying they targeted areas south of the Israeli coastal city of Haifa.

The Israeli army meanwhile reported about 30 projectiles had been fired at northern Israel from Lebanon, adding that it fired back in that direction, AFP reported.

Hamas, which is allied with Lebanese Hizbullah, has a number of fighters in south Lebanon and has previously claimed attacks on Israel from there.

This tactic, which has become completely exposed to the international community, "will backfire against the IRGC and Hizbullah and create deep trouble for them," al-Masalmeh said.

The same tactics are pursued in Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, he said, "and consequently this constitutes evidence of Iran's direct involvement in the war in the Middle East region."

Syrian regime stands by

"The Syrian regime is standing by and watching what is happening on the southern front as if it does not concern it," Syrian journalist Mohammed al-Abdullah told Al-Fassel.

The recruitment operations being carried out by the IRGC to support Hamas are taking place under its nose, he said, even though Hamas was banned in Syria and "considered the most dangerous enemy of the state."

"Because of the IRGC's control and influence over the Syrian sovereign decision-making process, however, the regime's aims and decisions have totally changed," he said.

"This reality can be described as a full political about-face," he said. "How do you support a military formation at this time that poses a danger to you as a state?"

This state of affairs also confirms that "the Syrian president has completely lost the power to make decisions, turning it over to the Iranian capital, Tehran, and the commanders of the IRGC," al-Abdullah said.

If a southern front is opened, he cautioned, "the Syrian people will be saddled with burdens that they cannot bear at all after all the previous years of war."

He accused Syrian president Bashar al-Assad of "selling out the interest of his people completely in exchange for Iranian support, which ensures that he remains in power.”