On Wednesday, December 10, 2025, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) documented the arbitrary detention of civilian Yassin Majed al-Abli, a resident of Ain al-Qadi Farm in the southern Quneitra countryside, by Israeli occupation forces. This occurred during a ground incursion, supported by military vehicles, into al-Mashidah Farm, west of Saida al-Golan village in the southern Quneitra countryside.
According to information obtained by SNHR from reliable local sources, Israeli occupation forces detained al-Abli while he was riding his motorcycle on the road to al-Mashidah Farm. He was forcibly taken to an unknown location without any clear legal procedures, making his detention an arbitrary detention prohibited under international human rights law.
We are continuing our investigations, including reviewing and gathering further evidence and information. Therefore, we urge anyone with information or details regarding this incident to provide them to us via our official email address. [email protected]
Legal Conclusions:
- The arrest of a civilian 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 detainees must be treated humanely, with respect for their legal rights. This was not respected in this case, neither in terms of the legal basis for the detention, nor in terms of its duration or location.
- The Israeli military incursion and the execution of detention operations inside Syrian territory constitute a flagrant violation of Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations, which prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity of any member state, and constitutes an act of aggression that violates the rules of general international law.
- The repeated incursions and occupation of military barracks inside Syria, and the execution of security operations and detentions, are practices that entrench an unrecognized occupation reality and may pave the way for demographic change or the imposition of a de facto military authority, which threatens wider grave violations.
- The Syrian Network for Human Rights strongly condemns the Israeli ground incursion, raids, and arbitrary detention of civilians, and affirms 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:
- A clear international condemnation of the unlawful detention by Israeli occupation forces, considering it a violation of the Geneva Conventions and the UN Charter, necessitating legal accountability.
- A call for the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council to investigate the incident through mechanisms such as the Independent International Mechanism (IIIM), and to document it within the pattern of Israeli violations in southern Syria.
- A demand for Israel to disclose the details of the detention operation, provide public legal justifications, and compensate the detained civilians for the violations they suffered, including material and psychological damages.
- The deployment of international monitoring forces or the expansion of the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) to include monitoring cases of detention and violations against civilians in Syrian border areas.
- The activation of international criminal accountability mechanisms, particularly the International Criminal Court (ICC), to consider classifying these practices as war crimes related to unlawful detention in occupied or disputed territories.
- Improved protection of civilians in contact zones through the establishment of local early warning networks and the documentation of unauthorized movements of foreign forces, in cooperation with local civil society organizations and human rights activists.
