Rubble and Hebrew graffiti mark Israel's presence in Syria's Quneitra province, where people accuse the southern neighbour's troops of demolitions, detentions and forced displacement -- defying ongoing security talks between the two sides.

"Israeli forces entered under cover of darkness and demolished my house, along with 15 others, with a bulldozer," said Mohammed al-Ali.

"They turned them into rubble within a few hours," said the 50-year-old from the southern town of Hamidiya.

Syria and Israel have technically been at war since 1948, but the state of play between the two countries has shifted dramatically since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

Israel has deployed troops in a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the Golan Heights, launched hundreds of air strikes on targets in Syria and carried out incursions deeper into the south.

These operations -- denounced as illegal by Syria's government and human rights groups -- have continued even as both sides claim progress in direct talks toward a security agreement.

Ali, who works in Quneitra's agriculture........

© International Business Times