Syrian families protest for release of 46 detainees held by Israeli forces

Families and relatives of Syrians detained in Israeli army prisons staged a protest on April 26 outside the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Damascus, denouncing what they described as arbitrary arrests in southern Syria. Protesters—including relatives of minors—said some detainees have been held for up to two years and called on the Syrian state, the United Nations and the international community to intervene and disclose the fate of those detained. Organisers estimate about 46 detainees from Quneitra, Daraa and Rural Damascus; a Foreign Ministry committee met with families and pledged to follow up and present the case to the Prime Minister’s Office. The families demanded the detainees’ release, asked that their cases be raised in international forums and courts, and requested a standing ministry committee to brief them on developments.

UN contacts and local grievances

A UNDOF delegation met residents and relatives in Jubata al-Khashab on April 21 to hear humanitarian concerns and the detainee file; UN personnel had increased patrol presence near Rafid, Suwaysah and Sida Golan earlier in April. Residents and local officials told Enab Baladi they continue to face Israeli incursions, search campaigns, arrests, checkpoints, agricultural land bulldozing and restrictions on farming and grazing. Families urged intensified international pressure to secure releases and for Syrian authorities to treat detainee cases as a national priority. as reported by Enab Baladi