Russia mediating release of two Syrians held by Israel
Syria is securing the release of two citizens held by Israel in a prisoner exchange mediated by Russia.
The official Syrian news agency SANA reported on Wednesday that Russia was mediating a deal for the release of nationals Nihal al-Makt and Diyab Qahmouz, both from the occupied Golan Heights, in exchange for an Israeli girl who was imprisoned in Syria after she entered Quneitra province 'by mistake.'
The report did not give details on when the Syrians were arrested or when the Israeli woman entered Syria.
Nihal comes from a group of a number of former prisoners in Israeli jails.
The individual had been under house arrest, serving a three-year suspended jail sentence and reporting daily for a year to Israeli authorities.
"I am free in my country with no conditions attached and no (Israeli) authority over me," al-Makt told Syrian Al-Ikhbariya TV, speaking through Skype after the exchange on Wednesday.
Qahmouz was reportedly arrested in 2016 and sentenced to 14 years in jail.
Media reports said Qahmouz refused to be released under condition of his exile, demanding instead that he be returned to his native village of Ghajar.
According to Al-Ikhbariya TV on Wednesday, he remained in Israeli custody.
Last year, al-Makt's brother, the longest-held prisoner in Israeli jails, was released in a Russian-mediated prisoner swap that came after Syria returned the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in a 1982 battle.
Israeli media said on Tuesday that the regime's cabinet had met to discuss a humanitarian issue mediated by Russia.
Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the closing stages of its 1967 Six-Day War, which also saw the regime occupy the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem al-Quds and the Gaza Strip.
Tel Aviv unilaterally annexed the Heights in 1981 in a move that is not recognized internationally.
Syria has repeatedly reaffirmed its sovereignty over the Heights, saying the territory must be completely restored to its control.
Israel frequently targets military positions inside Syria, particularly those of the resistance movement Hezbollah, which has played a key role in helping the Syrian army in its fight against foreign-backed terrorists.
Israel mostly keeps quiet about the attacks on Syrian territories, which many view as knee-jerk reaction to Syrian government’s increasing success in confronting terrorism in country.
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