Israel rejects US envoy Tom Barrack's Golan criticism following drone strike in Beit Jinn

Drone strike in Beit Jinn

On 22 August 2026, Syrian state television reported that an Israeli military drone struck a vehicle in the town of Beit Jinn, located southwest of Damascus near the Golan Heights. The strike injured one man inside the vehicle. The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the strike as a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic and an infraction of international law. Syrian officials stated that the attack formed part of repeated Israeli operations against Syrian targets. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strike in southern Syria, stating that their forces fired at an operative who was completing final preparations for attacks. The Israeli military stated that the target represented an imminent threat to their personnel, though officials did not release the individual's identity or any specific group affiliation.

Diplomatic dispute between Israel and Tom Barrack

The Beit Jinn strike coincided with open disagreement between Israeli leadership and Tom Barrack, the United States Special Envoy to Syria and ambassador to Turkey. Barrack previously described an Israeli strike against an unused military airbase in northwestern Syria as an unnecessary escalation. During an interview with political commentator Mario Nawfal, Barrack directly criticized Israel's continued presence in the Golan Heights.

Israel continues to occupy the Golan Heights contrary to UN resolutions and the entire international order, which understands that the Golan Heights are Syrian.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz responded on 22 August 2026 on social media platform X. Katz wrote that Barrack's comments were full of inaccuracies and contradicted the foreign policy position of United States President Donald Trump regarding the Golan Heights.

Sovereignty status and recognition history

Israel seized most of the Golan Heights from Syria during the Arab-Israeli War of 1967 and subsequently extended its administration over the territory. In 2019, during his first presidential administration, United States President Donald Trump signed an official proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. The Syrian government, led at the time by President Bashar al-Assad, condemned the decision as an attack on Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity. For years, the United States was the sole nation to extend diplomatic recognition to Israel's annexation. In August 2026, Colombia became the second country to officially recognize Israeli sovereignty over the region.

Buffer zone deployments and southern Syria operations

Border security arrangements changed following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Following the collapse of the government in Damascus, the Israeli military deployed ground forces into the United Nations-patrolled buffer zone that had separated Israeli and Syrian units since 1974. Israel has since carried out multiple incursions and airstrikes across southern Syria, aiming to widen its demilitarized buffer perimeter. While Israeli officials maintain that proactive strikes are necessary to eliminate imminent security threats, both Syrian authorities and United States representatives have scrutinized the expanding scope of cross-border operations.