A fringe Israeli activist group called "Pioneers of Bashan" has been making repeated unauthorised crossings from Israel into Israeli-military-occupied southern Syria, seeking to establish Jewish settlements in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida. The group — named after the biblical region of Bashan, which encompasses parts of modern Syria and Jordan — has attempted crossings every few days in recent weeks, with the Israeli military detaining and removing activists each time before any structures could be built. Though Israeli officials and most of the public regard the group as fringe, the episode has drawn concern internationally, with some observers noting that Israel's own West Bank settlement enterprise began with a similarly small band of ideological activists decades ago.