The Washington Post revealed that Israel is building settlement sites in southern Syria, raising local fears of occupation.

Satellite images obtained by The Washington Post show more than a half-dozen buildings and vehicles at a walled Israeli base near the village of Jubata al-Khashab in Quneitra province.

Israel also built an almost identical structure five miles to the south, both linked by new dirt roads to the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied in 1967.

The newspaper confirmed that the Israeli buildings and vehicles indicate a long-term presence, and not a temporary one as Israel claims.

The newspaper quoted the mayor of Jabata al-Khashab, Muhammad Marioud, as saying that the Israelis are building military bases.

He added that Israeli bulldozers destroyed fruit trees in the village and other trees located in part of a nature reserve in order to build the settlement outpost near Jubata al-Khashab, saying, "We told them that we consider this an occupation."

Israeli forces move back and forth in the 90-square-mile buffer zone, which is supposed to be demilitarized under a 1974 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria.

Custom design map of Syria Lebanon Golan Quneitra

Two monitoring bases

The two new construction sites, located inside what was until recently under Syrian control, appear to be forward observation bases, similar in structure and style to those in the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan Heights, said William Goodhand, an imagery analyst at Contested Ground, an independent research project that tracks military movements through satellite imagery in conflict zones.

The base at Jabata al-Khashab is more advanced, while the base to the south appears to be under construction, Goodhand said. The former will provide better visibility for troops, the latter will have better access to the area’s road network, as will the third base if it is built on cleared land to the south, he said.

The BBC had previously revealed Israeli construction in Jubata al-Khashab.

After the fall of the Syrian regime, Israel declared the collapse of the 1974 disengagement agreement, and seized the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, most of which it had occupied since 1967. It also established fixed points on Mount Hermon, including a helicopter landing pad, and said that its forces would remain there indefinitely.

The transitional authorities in Syria and several countries in the region and abroad demanded the withdrawal of the occupation forces from the areas they recently seized.