It still appears, however, that the SRF is holding onto the border crossing. As I speculated yesterday, this may be in a move to not entice an Israeli response at this point in time. But, as you will see below, Nusra has released a picture of them hoisting their flag near the crossing. This could make Israel feel uneasy with al-Qaeda being so close to their claimed territory. Only time will tell, but it will be interesting to see how Israel reacts to this--especially since one of their soldiers was hurt yesterday and reports are emerging that forty UN peacekeepers are being held.
On Nusra's side, though, this could give them a boost in their fighting for dominance with the Islamic State. They are now incredibly close to striking distance with Israel and left unchecked, they could utilize this border crossing for easier access for attacks in Israel.
Below are tweets from Nusra's official twitter account for Dera'a governorate:
This tweet shows them hoisting their flag near the crossing:
#جبهة_النصرة | رفع راية التوحيد فوق معبر #القنيطرة الحدودي. pic.twitter.com/P8GACEAZFJ
— مراسل درعا (@JnDar3a_2) August 28, 2014
These next ones shows them fighting in the battle for the crossing:
#جبهة_النصرة | (1) أثناء تحرير معبر #القنيطرة الحدودي ومدينة #القنيطرة القديمة المهدمة. pic.twitter.com/L18jZj8B2B
— مراسل درعا (@JnDar3a_2) August 28, 2014
#جبهة_النصرة | (2) أثناء تحرير معبر #القنيطرة الحدودي ومدينة #القنيطرة القديمة المهدمة. pic.twitter.com/17qF8n5t1w
— مراسل درعا (@JnDar3a_2) August 28, 2014
This next one is reportedly of a former high ranking official of al-Qaeda in Iraq, who is now the emir of Nusra in southern Syria taking part in the battle:
#جبهة_النصرة | مشاركة أمير جبهة النصرة في الجنوب بمعركة تحرير معبر #القنيطرة الحدودي ومدينة #القنيطرة القديمة. pic.twitter.com/5xs2J9AkRA
— مراسل درعا (@JnDar3a_2) August 28, 2014
-- Caleb