Formed early last year, the Pioneers of Bashan are a group of right-wing Israeli activists aiming to establish Jewish settlements inside Syria. The group seeks first to establish a Jewish outpost in southern Syria next to the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Syrian officials have not commented publicly on the attempts by Israeli settler groups to enter Syria. In Lebanon, a fringe Israeli settler group — “Uri Tzafon,” or “Awaken, O North” — has staged incursions into the southern part of the country. Still, some have warned against entirely discounting the settler groups.