French journalist detained by Israel in Syria
French journalist Sylvain Mercadier was detained for over four hours by Israeli forces in Syria while covering the army's advance in the country.
Mercadier, a Middle East Eye contributor, was in the southwestern Syrian province of Quneitra where Israeli forces have been seizing additional territory beyond what they already controlled of the Golan Heights.
In a post on X, Mercadier described how he and Syrian lawyer, Mohammed al-Fayyad were arrested by Israeli forces in the village of Hamidiye while filming.
"We were handcuffed and blindfolded, brought to the governorate's house and mistreated for more than four hours," he said, adding that the pair were "threatened and humiliated".
Mercadier said he was beaten "on the ground," and that Fayyad was hit "on the back of the skull by a gun stock".
After being held for over four hours, Mercadier said he and al Fayyad were "dropped in field" where their handcuffs were removed. He added that the Israeli forces stole his sim card, camera memory cards and $200 from Fayyad.
According to Mercadier, the pair were arrested while filming, but stopped when they were instructed to by Israeli soldiers arriving in the village.
"When they searched the car, we let them," he said, adding that when the soldiers confiscated a laptop form the car, al Fayyad protested and they were "immediately arrested".
A Syrian journalist who was also on the scene said Mercadier was wearing a 'Press' bulletproof vest.
"Despite that, when the soldiers got to him, they confiscated his equipment, then beat him and called him a 'mercenary,'" Yousuf Gharibi told Marianne.
"They blindfolded him and took him away by force with the Syrian lawyer Mohammad Fayad in a car."
The Israeli army told Middle East Eye: "Several suspects were identified in the Area of Separation in Syria adjacent to IDF soldiers. IDF soldiers questioned the suspects and released them with their equipment and personal belongings".
Marie Mesmeur, an MP for the left-wing La France Insoumise party, said French President Emmanuel Macron must intervene to see Mercadier released.
"His arrest, which aims to intimidate, is unacceptable," she wrote on X.
"Israel does not have all the rights, it is time for this to stop!"
Hours after rebels led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled Bashar al-Assad’s government on 8 December, Israel began moving troops further into Syrian territory and bombing targets across the country.
Israeli troops invaded from the Golan Heights, a Syrian plateau that Israel has occupied since 1967 and annexed the territory in 1981, a move recognised by the US but deemed illegal under international law.
Israel says it is protecting its borders from turmoil in Syria, but critics say it is looking to expand and settle more territory.
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