Israeli cross-border assistance to Syrians

Abstract

The relations between Israel and Syria are usually framed in the context of war and conflict. It is less known, however, that Israel provided humanitarian assistance to Syrians residing in the Al-Qunaytirah region from 2012/2013 to 2018. The purpose of this article is to explore if humanitarian goods and medical services from Israel and return gifts the Syrian side can be interpreted gift exchange in Maussan terms, the theoretical purpose of which is substituting war and establishing friendly relations between enemies. The argument is based on the content analysis of primary and secondary sources, a visual material, and interviews with key informants. Findings indicate that cross-border exchanges offered a way, even if temporarily, out of the reproduction of hostility in the direct vicinity of the border.