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The War Next Door (Part 3)

In part three of a five-part series, VICE News visits the top tourist destination in Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, where tourists and UN observers enjoy the views of volcanic hills, sprawling vineyards, and Syria's civil war.

In August, al Nusra Front jihadists took control of Syria's side of the border crossing with Israel and kidnapped over 40 United Nations peacekeepers — who have since been released.

But al Nusra Front, an al Qaeda-affiliate, isn't Israel's only threat from Syria. President Bashar al-Assad's military, in a possible effort to bait Israel into its civil war to shore up Arab sympathies, has been lobbing mortars across the border. Just a few weeks ago, the Israeli military shot down a Syrian plane flying over the Golan Heights — the first time it has done so since the 1980s.

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In part three of a five-part series, VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky visits the top tourist destination in Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Up here, tourists and UN observers stand side by side as they enjoy the great vantage of volcanic hills, sprawling vineyards, and Syria's civil war.

Watch Part 1

Watch Part 2

Read "Why Saudi Arabia is Picking Up Lebanon's $3 Billion Weapons Tab"

Read "New Evidence Suggests Israel Is Helping Syrian Rebels in the Golan Heights"

Read "Syria and Iran Condemn Israeli Airstrikes Near Damascus"

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