Amnesty International calls for investigation into Israel's war crimes in Quneitra
Amnesty International has called for an investigation into the Israeli army's deliberate destruction of civilian homes in Quneitra governorate since December 2024 as "war crimes".
In a statement issued today, 14 May, Amnesty explained that the destruction of homes requires Israel to provide reparations for these serious violations of international humanitarian law, stressing that the reparations are specifically designed to address the specific harm victims face.
The organization indicated that over the six months following their incursion into the demilitarized zone between the occupied Syrian Golan and the Syrian-controlled territories of Quneitra, since 8 December 2024, Israeli forces have been raiding homes and ordering residents to leave.
The international organization spoke of the destruction of the Israeli army and damage to at least 23 civilian buildings in three villages, which witnesses described as their homes and their neighbors, which they said led to the displacement of entire families.
The organization said it verified the damage and destruction of 23 buildings in these villages through satellite imagery, noting that the area in question did not witness active hostilities directly before, during or after the destruction of civilian buildings.
Israel evacuates residents and blows up their homes
Amnesty International's Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Christine Beckerly, said the unlawful destruction of civilian property has become a hallmark of Israel's military operations in the region, which have been documented over the past years in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
Amnesty International investigations have also demonstrated this methodology in Syria, with Israeli forces repeatedly and deliberately forcing families to evacuate and demolish their homes, stressing that securing Israel's borders cannot be used as a justification for bulldozing people's homes and villages and blowing them up in another country.
Families in southern Syria have suffered from a decade-long conflict, and many of them have almost already rebuilt their homes during that time, until they have seen those homes demolished again, without any absolute military necessity.
Accurate Documentation Proving Israel's Crimes
Amnesty International interviewed eight residents of Quneitra governorate, four of whom had their homes demolished, two who witnessed the demolition of their neighbours' homes, a person who had direct knowledge of the damage caused by Israeli forces to a building in the governorate, and a local representative.
The accounts of the interviewees, corroborated by media reports, according to Amnesty International, indicated the absence of any active hostilities directly before, during or after the destruction and damage to civilian buildings in southern Syria.
Amnesty International verified 35 videos and photographs, some of which showed bulldozers demolishing houses, or the rubble of what appeared to be houses in villages.
The organization reviewed media reports, some published in Israeli media, and statements by the Israeli government, and analyzed satellite imagery of each affected area in order to confirm the demolitions within the time frame described by witnesses.
Human Rights Watch: Israel Commits War Crimes in the Golan
Human Rights Watch warned in a report on Wednesday (April 29) that Israel's new plan to expand settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan represents "a clear indication of the intention to commit war crimes," considering that the project is part of a systematic policy to change the demographic reality in the occupied territories.
The Israeli government's approval on April 17 of a $334 million plan aimed at relocating thousands of Israelis to the Golan reveals an official trend to expand existing settlements, including one established in 1977, with a stated goal of bringing in some 3,000 settler families by 2030.
Heba Ziadeen, the organization's senior researcher on Syria, considered that the allocation of public funds to this project reflects a "clear intention to commit grave violations," stressing that the transfer of the civilian population to occupied territories "represents a clear violation of international humanitarian law" and compounds the suffering of Syrians who have been displaced for decades.
The organization called on the European Union, the United Kingdom and other countries to take practical measures, including the suspension of trade agreements with Israel and a ban on economic dealings with illegal settlements, whether in the Golan Heights or the occupied Palestinian territories.
The report noted that this call comes in light of internal European reviews that have shown indications of Israel's violation of the provisions of the Association Agreement, especially with regard to respect for human rights, without translating these reviews into executive steps.
$334 million to build Israel's first city in the Golan
On April 16, the Israeli occupation government approved a five-year plan worth one billion shekels, equivalent to about $334 million, with the aim of transforming the settlement of "Katzrin" into the first Israeli city in the occupied Syrian Golan, by building thousands of new housing units and expanding infrastructure and services.
Israeli sources said that the plan includes the recruitment of approximately 3,000 new families through the development of the education and health sectors, including the establishment of a university branch and a veterinary hospital, within the framework of the policy of attracting settlers and strengthening the "Israeli demographic bloc" in the area, as described by them, adding that the plan includes the establishment of two new settlements with two temporary names, "Asif" and "Matar", with a total of up to 12,000 housing units, which exposes the Israeli intentions to increase the number of settlers in an unprecedented way since Occupation of the Golan.