Fear and uncertainty in Golan Heights as Israeli troops drive deeper into Syria

On the high rocky plateau, the fall of Bashar al-Assad has sown complicated and contradictory emotions

Middle East crisis – live updates

On the outskirts of the Druze village of Majdal Shams, high in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, a gate in the fence leads to the supposedly demilitarised buffer zone on the Syrian side. Known as “the Shouting Hill”, local Druze villagers have long gathered here to shout messages – sometimes even marriage proposals – to relatives and friends on the other side.

On Wednesday, three days after Israeli troops seized control of the buffer zone as Syrian rebels took over in Damascus, there were no relatives waiting to receive messages. Instead, four-wheel-drive vehicles and tanks continued to pour through the gate, joining the massed ranks of Israeli soldiers operating as far as the eye could see.

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