Demonstrators demand the end of Israeli troops in a border town in the south of the state.
Israeli forces have shot and wounded a Syrian protesting against the presence of troops in a border village in southern Syria, the Israeli military said.
Israeli fire wounded the man, identified by local media as Maher al-Hussein, in the leg on Friday as protesters gathered in the town of Maariyah to demand an end to the Israeli military presence in the area.
A local journalist told Al Jazeera that al-Hussein was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Since the rebels toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, Israel has carried out a series of airstrikes against Syria that it says are aimed at preventing weapons from falling into enemy hands.
In a move that has been criticized around the world, Israel has also sent troops into the United Nations-controlled area of the Golan Heights and beyond, calling it a defensive and temporary measure.
“During the protests against (the Israeli army) in the Aryan area of southern Syria, the (Israeli army) asked the protesters to separate from the army,” the army said.
The village is located outside the southern region of the UN-monitored region.
“When the soldiers realized that there was a problem, they worked according to the methods that work against the threat. … The protester was shot in the leg,” said the soldiers.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which monitors the war, said that Israeli forces were occupying a building in the city.
“During the protests against the Israeli occupation, a young man was wounded by an Israeli army gun in the village of Maaria, Daraa area,” SOHR said.
“During the protest, an Israeli army stationed at Al-Jazeera's checkpoint opened fire on the protestors, wounding a teenager in the leg.”
It is not yet known how the new Syrian government, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, wants to fight Israel's wars throughout the country.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera this week, local government spokesman Obaid Arnaut said the government's strategy would be “explained soon” without giving further details.
“People are angry and think that the government has been replaced by Israeli violence. I don't have much information on this at the moment,” he said. “Our main goal is to ensure that Syria is safe from external threats.”