World | Deutsche Welle
· collected 2026-08-21 · by Cathrin Schaer, Omar Albam
It's been two years, four months, 24 days and five hours, said Syrian man Ahmad Hassan al-Din when asked how long it's been since he last saw his son.
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he → say → son
In April 2024, Israeli soldiers took Saddam, who had just turned 17, from farmland near the Golan Heights, a part of Syria Israel has occupied since 1967.
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Israel → take → 1967
"Saddam had gone to feed the animals early in the morning," al-Din, who's from the village of Jubata al-Khashab in the Quneitra district near Golan, told DW.
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who → go → DW
"I called him on the phone, and he told me, 'Everything's fine.'
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Everything → call → me
But then later we saw with our own eyes how they took the boy, handcuffed and shackled."
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they → see → boy
Al-Din filmed Israeli soldiers marching his son through fields.
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soldiers → film → fields
The video, which he forwarded to DW, has previously been verified by open-source investigators at France24 and by human rights organizations.
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he → forward → organizations
"They said they took him because he was trespassing on the territory of the state of Israel," al-Din continued. "Even though that area is our farmland and we have a valid UN permit to work there."
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we → say → permit
To enter this buffer area, Syrian farmers and shepherds needed a special pass from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, or UNDOF.
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farmers → enter → Force
The latter was set up to make sure Israeli and Syrian forces kept their distance after a 1974 disengagement agreement.
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forces → set → agreement
Humanitarian organizations have since discovered Saddam, now 19, is likely in a prison in Israel.
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Saddam → discover → Israel
DW asked the Israeli military what Saddam had been charged with and under which legal system.
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Saddam → ask → system
A spokesperson sent DW a statement similar to one previously sent to other media outlets and human rights organizations that said Israel detains Syrians that it suspects might wish it harm.
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it → send → harm
The statement did not specify whether the army considered the farmer's son to be one of those individuals.
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son → specify → individuals
Israel takes over buffer zone
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Israel → take → zone
Since Saddam was taken, the Syrian teenager's story has become one of many similar accounts in this part of southern Syria.
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story → take → Syria
After the fall of the country's dictatorial Assad regime in December 2024, Israel took control of the UN-patrolled demilitarized zone.
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Israel → take → zone
Senior Israeli politicians declared the 1974 agreement void and said troops would be in the area temporarily to protect Israel from cross-border attacks.
However, since then Israel's presence in Syria has become more permanent.
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presence → declare → Syria
In November 2025, UNDOF told reporters Israel had set up 10 bases in the area.
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Israel → tell → area
From these bases, Israeli soldiers are making near-daily incursions into the Syrian provinces of Daraa and Quneitra.
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soldiers → make → Daraa
"These incursions typically involve armored patrols through populated areas, followed by the establishment of temporary checkpoints on main roads, where all passing Syrian civilians are stopped, searched, questioned, and have their phones examined.
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phones → involve → roads
In some cases, biometric data is also collected," Syrian consultancy, Karam Shaar Advisory, wrote in January.
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consultancy → collect → January
Israeli soldiers have also raided homes, businesses and schools and fenced off farmland and water sources.
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soldiers → raid → farmland
Quneitra authorities sent DW a statement claiming Israeli troops had seized more than 200 sheep, destroyed drinking water wells, razed horticultural areas and destroyed buildings.
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troops → send → buildings
Mousa Khalil, a resident of Quneitra, recounted how his home, a two-story building with four apartments in Hamidiyah village, was completely destroyed by Israeli troops last year.
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home → recount → troops
"I am 65 years old," he told DW.
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he → tell → DW
"At this age, finding decent work has become extremely difficult, forcing me to accept whatever I can find to provide for my family of eight and to save money to rebuild our home.
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I → find → home
Over the past few months, the number of these kinds of incursions has been rising, and Israeli soldiers have also been moving farther inside Syria.
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soldiers → rise → Syria
The Sijil Center, based in Syria, documents Israeli violations of Syrian territory.
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Center → base → territory
Between August 25 and December 31, 2025, the center recorded 818 incidents, or 45 incidents per week.
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center → record → week
Since the beginning of this year, the center has counted 1,632 incursions, bringing the average to 48 incidents weekly.
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center → count → incidents
The Sijil Center also documents how many Syrians have been detained by Israel and says that, since December 2024, around 200 people have been apprehended.
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people → document → December
Unlike al-Din's son, most were released within 24 hours after being interrogated.
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most → release → hours
Between 40 and 50 Syrians are thought to remain in Israeli jails, including four or five who were in custody before the change of Syrian government in 2024.
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who → think → 2024
Soldiers coming across a border and detaining citizens of another country, then transferring them back to their own prisons, is clearly a breach of international law, experts say.
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experts → come → law
Organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have described Israel's actions in southern Syria as possible war crimes.
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Organizations → describe → crimes
Why is Israel doing this?
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Israel → do → this
Since the fall of the previous Syrian government, Israeli politicians have insisted that southern Syria must be a "demilitarized zone."
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Syria → insist → government
The Israeli military previously told other news outlets that it has "apprehended individuals where there was reasonable suspicion of their involvement in terrorist activity."
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it → tell → activity
The army also acknowledged the construction of new military bases to prevent attacks and smuggling.
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army → acknowledge → attacks
…and 27 more, not listed.
