ISTANBUL 

Israeli forces occupying parts of southern Syria since December 2024 have committed abuses that amount to war crimes, including forced displacement, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday.

The New York-based rights group said in a statement Israeli forces “have seized and demolished homes, blocked residents from their property and livelihoods, and arbitrarily detained residents and transferred them to Israel.”

According to HRW, the violations took place in the UN-monitored demilitarized zone stretching from Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) through Quneitra to western Daraa, where Israel has established nine new military posts since last December.

“Israel’s military forces operating in Syria should not have a free hand to seize homes, demolish them, and drive families out,” said Hiba Zayadin, HRW’s senior Syria researcher.

“Israel’s recent actions in southern Syria are not legitimate acts of military necessity, but pages out of the playbook used in the occupied Palestinian territory.”

The rights group documented demolitions in al-Hamidiya that displaced eight families, as well as the unlawful transfer of several Syrian detainees, including a 17-year-old, into Israel where they remain held incommunicado.

While the Israeli military insisted its actions were “in accordance with international law” and described the demolitions as “necessary operational measures,” HRW said they violated the laws of war and urged governments to suspend military assistance and impose sanctions.

“The inaction of other governments in response to Israel’s unlawful conduct across the region is allowing it to apply its repressive tactics with impunity,” Zayadin said.

Since the collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime in late 2024, Israel has expanded its occupation of southern Syrian territory and carried out repeated airstrikes, despite Damascus showing no hostile intent toward Tel Aviv.

Israel, which has occupied most of the Golan Heights since 1967, used the new situation to move into the demilitarized zone and declared the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria null and void.