BEIRUT — Syrian rebels Wednesday claimed control of the only border crossing between Syria and Israel, extending a series of gains in the strategically sensitive Golan Heights in recent days.
The capture of the crossing point is of greater symbolic than strategic significance for the rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, given the decades-old state of war that has prevailed between Israel and Syria.
It does, however, consolidate rebel control over Syria’s border with Israel and potentially puts extremists on Israel’s doorstep. Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra was among the rebel groups that participated in the battle for the crossing, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-rebels-capture-sole-border-crossing-between-israel-and-syria-in-golan-heights/2014/08/27/529a3be5-2ac5-4656-bf8c-62dd7bfbc4d0_story.html