The Golan Heights, Once Peaceful, May Drag Israel Into the Syrian Civil WarAssad's never going to win the war, and there still is a Free Syrian Army. An Israeli is quoted as saying the Syrian army has been more dangerous for Israel than the current jihadists, but I don't see any evidence of that, and the article points out that the crossing was peaceful when Assad was in control.
"The Syrian army has two divisions on its side of the Golan—Division 61 south of Kunetra and Division 90 north of Kunetra,” says Idan Avni, a correspondent for Israel Radio. “But Assad has more urgent battles, in Aleppo, Damascus, etc. These guys over here haven’t received anything from him in months. No supplies, no arms, nothing. So they defect or surrender to the rebel side, or they simply lay down their arms and go home.
Kunetra and the border areas south of it are controlled by jihadists that are dominated by Jabhat al-Nusra. Further north, more moderate anti-Assad groups, like the Free Syrian Army (FSA), hold territory, as do members of the Druze sect."