Phoebe Greenwood, Ruth Sherlock and Damien McElroy
London Telegraph ^[1]
Nov 14, 2012

At least two hundred rebel soldiers had taken over Beerajam and Bariqa, two isolated villages nestled in the buffer zone established between the two countries following the Yom Kippur war in 1973.

“The rebels are employing a clear tactic of drawing the regime forces to fight in these demilitarised areas because of the limitations on the Syrian armed forces,” a military intelligence source from Israel’s northern command said yesterday. “Rebels have seized control of the area north of Quneitra and the area to its south. If they are brave they will try to make a swift move to cut off Quenetra city and cut off the road to Damascus. We cannot rule that out as a next step.”

The armistice agreed in 1974 prohibits the Syrian government from engaging in military activity within a buffer zone that runs along the length of the Israeli border, with a width just under six miles.

Israel has not formally taken sides in the Syrian conflict and in some quarters there are fears that a more hostile Islamist government may succeed the Assad regime.

Full article here ^[1]