On Thursday, September 11, 2025, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) documented the arbitrary detention by Israeli occupation forces of Muhammad Ghazi al-Masri and his son Qassem, both residents of the village of Abdeen in the Yarmouk Basin area in the western countryside of Daraa Governorate. The detention occurred during a ground incursion supported by military vehicles into the village of Abdeen.
According to reliable local sources obtained by the SNHR, the Israeli occupation forces detained them after raiding their home in the village and forcibly transferred them to an unknown location.
The SNHR documented their release the same day after several hours of detention, but without any clear legal procedures, which constitutes arbitrary detention prohibited under international human rights law.
We are continuing our investigations, including reviewing and gathering more evidence and information. Therefore, we hope that anyone with information or details related to this incident will provide them to us via our official email address: [email protected]
Legal Conclusions:
- The arrest of a civilian and his son without a judicial warrant, a clear security necessity, or charges, and without respect for fair trial guarantees, constitutes arbitrary detention under Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits deprivation of liberty without legal basis.
- According to Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (Article 75), all detained persons must be treated humanely, with respect for their legal rights. This requirement was not respected in this incident, neither in terms of the legal basis for detention, nor in terms of its duration or location.
- The Israeli military incursion and detention operations within Syrian territory constitute a flagrant violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity of any member state and constitutes an act of aggression contrary to the rules of general international law.
- Repeated incursions, the occupation of military barracks inside Syria, and the implementation of security operations and detentions are practices that perpetuate an unrecognized occupation and may pave the way for demographic change or the imposition of a de facto military authority, threatening wider grave violations.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights strongly condemns the Israeli ground incursion, raids, and arbitrary detention of civilians. It emphasizes that these practices constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In this context, the Syrian Network for Human Rights recommends the following:
- Clear international condemnation of the unlawful detention by the Israeli occupation forces, considering it a violation of the Geneva Conventions and the UN Charter, requiring legal accountability.
- Calling on the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council to investigate the incident, through mechanisms such as the International Independent Mechanism (IIIM), and document it within the pattern of Israeli violations in southern Syria.
- Demand that Israel disclose details of the detention process, provide public legal justifications, and compensate the detained civilians for the violations they suffered, including material and moral harm.
- Deploy international monitoring forces or expand the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) to include monitoring cases of detention and violations against civilians in the Syrian border areas.
- Activate international criminal accountability tools, particularly the International Criminal Court (ICC), to consider classifying these practices as war crimes related to unlawful detention in occupied or disputed territories.
- Improve the protection of civilians in conflict zones by establishing local early warning networks and documenting unauthorized foreign troop movements, in cooperation with civil society organizations and local human rights activists.
