Israel sends aid to Syria refugees but closes Golan Heights border

ISRAEL’S military has delivered aid to thousands of Syrian refugees but says it will not allow them to cross into the Golan Heights.

Around 120,000 people have left their homes in Deraa province, southwest Syria, in the last 10 days as regime forces advance. Many are heading towards the borders of Jordan and the Israeli-controlled Golan.

Israel has never accepted refugees since the fighting began in Syria in 2011, but has provided aid to civilians near its borders as well as support for Syrian rebel groups in the south.

Intense fighting has put a fresh focus on Israel’s policy towards Syrian refugees, some of whom are camping just a few hundred yards from Israeli military positions.

Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said they delivered 13 tons of food, 15 tons of baby food, three pallets of medical equipment and medicine and 30 tons of clothing to the refugees on Thursday.

“Several thousand Syrian civilians fleeing the hostilities are living under poor conditions in these camps near the Israeli border, lacking access to water, electricity, sources of food or other basic necessities,” the military said. But it stressed that it would not allow Syrians to cross the border into the Golan Heights. “The IDF cannot permit Syrians fleeing hostilities to enter Israel and will continue maintaining Israel’s security interests,” the military said.

Jan Egeland, a UN humanitarian adviser on Syria, said this week that he considered the Israeli borders to be “hermetically sealed” and was focusing instead on convincing Jordan to reopen its borders to fleeing Syrians.

Jordan is already hosting more than a million Syrian refugees and has said it cannot accept any more.

Many Syrians are reluctant to take shelter in Israeli-controlled territory. Israel is widely thought of as an enemy, although perceptions have become mixed among supporters of the opposition as Israel has fought the Assad regime and delivered aid.

Israel’s “Good Neighbour” operation has brought around 5,000 Syrian civilians into Israel to receive medical treatment. But after hospital treatment they return into Syria. Those accepting aid from Israel risk being labelled “collaborators” and even arrested.

The UN says at least 46 civilians have been killed in the fighting since June 19, and hospitals have been bombed. Zeid Ra’ad al-hussein, UN human rights commissioner, called on Syrian factions to stop using civilians as “pawns”.