UN urges Israel to end harassment, intimidation, detention of civilians in Syria

The UN human rights office on Friday urged Israeli authorities to halt actions that harass or intimidate civilians in southern Syria, including military raids, movement restrictions, detentions and destruction of crops, Anadolu reports.

The office cited open-source monitoring that recorded about 280 incidents involving armed Israeli incursions into Syria in September alone, the highest monthly figure since the beginning of the year.

According to information received by the office, 49 Syrians remain in Israeli custody, although it said it had not independently verified the current total number of detainees.

Released detainees and other sources alleged torture and ill-treatment, including beatings, prolonged forced standing and threats against detainees and their families.

“Israeli authorities should cease actions that harass or intimidate civilians in Syrian villages, including raids, restrictions on freedom of movement, detention and destruction of crops,” spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told reporters in Geneva.

READ: Israeli forces detain 2 Syrians during incursion into southern Syrian village

She said UN human rights chief Volker Turk was “concerned by the continuing impact of Israeli military operations on civilians in southern Syria.”

The office also received reports that Israeli forces shot and temporarily detained a farmer with a disability in Quneitra on Wednesday.

The farmer was reportedly held while bleeding and released an hour and a half later, after which Syrian Civil Defense personnel transferred him to Al-Golan Hospital.

Separately, a 22-year-old Syrian man was reportedly killed by Israeli forces near Al-Hamidiyah on Monday, prompting Turk to call for a prompt and impartial investigation.

“No warning shots were known to have been fired,” Mantoo said.

The office stressed that all detentions must comply with international law and that detainees’ fundamental rights must be respected.

“No person may be detained absent proper basis in international law, and the important procedural guarantees under applicable international human rights and humanitarian law that protect any individual taken into custody must be fully respected,” Mantoo said.

“All detainees must be treated consistent with their dignity and human rights,” she added.

READ: Israeli army shells outskirts of village in southern Syria