Israeli raids and arrests in southern Syria push population to the brink

Qatana, Syria – In the living room of his home, Ahmed explains in a low voice how he was beaten and tortured in an Israeli prison after he was arrested at a checkpoint the Israeli military had set up on the street in his village in Syria.“They stopped me, they asked for my name, asked where I’m from,” he says. “I gave my name and village. They said, ‘You need to come with us for five minutes, and we’ll bring you back.'”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Inside Israel’s prisons, where Ben-Gvir’s cruelty is policylist 2 of 3What Palestinian children endure in Israeli detentionlist 3 of 3Israel confirms death of Palestinian detainee, nearly two years lateend of listHe says he then spent more than one year detained in Israel. For 90 days, he was in handcuffs and describes being thrown to the cell floor, beaten with sticks while restrained with his hands behind his back.“They tighten the cuffs by stamping on them with their feet, until the cuffs bite into the flesh of your wrists and also your buttocks. Sometimes they leave them tightened like this for one or two days until your hands are extremely swollen. Your hands go green, and you can’t feel them at all.”After his releas...