Zafrir Rinat. • October 27 2025
The war in northern Israel has ended, but the IDF’s plans for the region threaten the natural landscapes and open spaces that locals value and seek to preserve. The army intends to redeploy across the area, establishing additional outposts and bases, cutting through roads and building training facilities.
Much of this plan will take place in open terrain, often on stream cliffs, in unique groves and at sites that include springs and cultural heritage locations such as Ein Fit in the northern Golan Heights.
Two years ago, the IDF received approval from a planning committee overseeing security facilities in northern Israel, which acts as a subcommittee in each regional planning authority, to build an urban warfare training base near Ein Fit. The facility is designed to simulate a southern Lebanon village, and will include around 80 structures for conducting exercises. The decision sparked protests from local residents, local government heads and nature conservation organizations, who have launched a public campaign against the construction.
The Israel Union for Environmental Defense filed a petition with the Nazareth District Court challenging the decision of the regional planning subcommittee, whose deliberations are classified.
The organization argued there was no justification for withholding information from the public in this case. It also said that a transparent planning process should have been allowed, including the evaluation of alternatives and the assessment of environmental impacts, at least for aspects related to the deployment of construction in the area that don’t involve classified security activities.
On Tuesday, the Knesset’s Interior and Environment Committee, chaired by Otzma Yehudit lawmaker Yitzhak Kroizer, discussed the army’s plans in the region. During the session, a legal adviser to the Northern District Planning and Construction Committee, responding to a question from Yesh Atid lawmaker Yorai Lahav-Hertzanu, acknowledged that the regional committee had failed to comply with the law by not publishing its decision regarding Ein Fit.
The Interior and Environment Committee eventually called on the IDF to halt preparations for construction at the site until the concerns raised during the discussion are addressed.
The IDF representative at the Knesset committee session was Lt. Col. Alex Shklyar, head of the army’s Infrastructure and Deployment Branch. His remarks raised several troubling issues of principle regarding the army’s approach to Israel’s natural assets.
Shklyar presented the planned military complex in Ein Fit as having immense security significance, as it allows soldiers to prepare for combat conditions in Lebanon. However, he noted that the urgency of establishing the facility is currently being reassessed in light of the war’s outcomes.
The committee session also included Ronen Kalimi and Lior Anmer, both with professional backgrounds in tour guiding, geology and adaptation of natural sites and terrain for military use. They pointed out that the site doesn’t accurately simulate conditions in southern Lebanon villages, and it’s unclear why it was chosen. Kalimi noted that he had assessed the terrain in dozens of villages in south Lebanon, and only in one of them did he find any real similarity to Ein Fit.
Shklyar added that the IDF had conducted in-depth assessments with experts to understand the terrain and the environmental implications of military activity there, even though the site isn’t within a nature reserve or national park.
e said that following this evaluation and discussions with bodies such as the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, significant changes were made to the plan. For example, the complex will host only dry-fire exercises (no live ammunition), the activity won’t extend to the nearby stream, structures will be moved away from the main spring and no power or sewage infrastructure will be built. Restrictions were also imposed on the movement of combat vehicles.
Anmer expressed doubts about the reliability of the assessment. “They treat Ein Fit as if it’s just a pool used for immersion, but it’s a remarkable valley with an extraordinarily rich ecosystem,” he said. “The army didn’t realize this, and didn’t understand what we were talking about.”
Sharon Levi, director of the Nature and Parks Authority’s Golan District, was also unconvinced by the army’s explanations. He said the authority had issued guidelines to prevent damage to the area, and not all of them were followed. Even now, the authority maintains that this plan should not be implemented in this location.
The army can sometimes be seen as a guardian of nature, as it holds large firing zones and prevents civilian development within them. However, it’s also responsible for ongoing damage to protected areas caused by fires during training, extensive base infrastructure, road construction and constant disturbances to wildlife.
There’s now a real concern that the IDF will exploit large areas in the north to build training sites and various facilities. Sacrificing these areas for security purposes should be minimized, and should not include important sites like Ein Fit. Anmer presented the IDF with an alternative plan that would move the structures away from the site. This proposal should be implemented to preserve the nature that the northern Israelis cherish.