Syrians in the southwestern province of Quneitra have called for the liberation of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and resisting Tel Aviv’s push for further territorial gains amid the political instability following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government.

Quneitra’s residents made the call on Saturday in a discussion session organized by the Preparatory Committee for the Syrian National Dialogue Conference.

The committee is tasked with gathering input from Syrians to help shape the country’s future, including a new constitution.

The participants raised several key issues, not least the unity of Syrian territory and defiance of the Israeli regime’s incursion into the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the southwestern province.

They also called for the liberation of the occupied Syrian Golan from Israel.

“The participants stressed the importance of guaranteeing personal freedoms, ensuring judicial independence, and creating a platform for idea exchanges on rebuilding a new Syria,” Syria’s SANA news agency reported.

“They also highlighted the need to expedite the return of displaced persons to their homes,” the report added.

The attendees at the discussion session also stressed the urgent need to appoint a governor to oversee citizens’ affairs and provide essential services in Quneitra.

The outcome of the session will be non-binding recommendations to Syria’s new administration, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant group that took over the Arab country after Assad’s fall in December last year.

Local Syrian sources reported earlier that Israeli occupation forces had advanced into the villages of al-Asbah, Kodna, al-Rafid, and Hiran in the southern countryside of Quneitra, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz also revealed satellite images showing the Israeli occupation army’s establishment of seven new military outposts in Syrian territory.

The Israeli military built living quarters, command centers, clinics, showers, and restrooms at the outposts.

The Israeli military has ramped up its onslaught against military installations, facilities, and arsenals belonging to Syria’s now-defunct army following the collapse of the Syrian government, drawing widespread condemnation for violating the country’s sovereignty and ravaging assets belonging to the Arab nation.

Despite having occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967, Israel has also invaded the UN-patrolled buffer zone in southwestern Syria, which was created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli War with the deployment of 1,100 UN forces.

The Israeli regime announced on January 9 that the military plans to occupy for “the long run” a 15 km “zone of control” and 60 km “sphere of influence” deeper into Syria.