Syrian Kurds Hand ISIS Relatives to Dutch Authorities

Special forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces keep watch in the vicinity of Al-Hol camp, in Syria's northeast, March 30, 2021. (AFP)
Special forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces keep watch in the vicinity of Al-Hol camp, in Syria's northeast, March 30, 2021. (AFP)
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Syrian Kurds Hand ISIS Relatives to Dutch Authorities

Special forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces keep watch in the vicinity of Al-Hol camp, in Syria's northeast, March 30, 2021. (AFP)
Special forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces keep watch in the vicinity of Al-Hol camp, in Syria's northeast, March 30, 2021. (AFP)

Syria's Kurds on Saturday handed four relatives of ISIS group fighters, including three children, to Dutch diplomats for repatriation, a thorny issue for authorities in the Netherlands.

The group consisted of a Dutch woman and her two children as well as another 12-year-old girl, "a humanitarian case," whose mother had agreed to her repatriation following a request from the Dutch government, top Syrian Kurdish foreign affairs official Abdel Karim Omar said.

The four were handed over to a delegation led by the Netherlands' Syria envoy Emiel de Bont and senior foreign ministry official Dirk Jan Nieuwenhuis.

De Bont said the delegation had "a clear and well-defined mandate to receive in the care of a mission, a small number of Dutch nationals up to now residing in the Roj detention facility", following a Dutch court ruling on the individuals' cases.

"We are here then to serve the rule of law and to do what we can to assist the due legal process," he added.

Since the fall of ISIS's self-styled "caliphate" in March 2019, Syria's Kurds and the United Nations have repeatedly urged foreign countries to repatriate their nationals held in northeast Syria.

At least 220 such children with Dutch nationality remain in Syria or Turkey, 75 percent of whom are under the age of four and were born in the region to parents with Dutch citizenship.

At a press conference in the regional capital Qamishli, Kurdish official Omar reiterated calls for other countries to "meet their responsibilities by repatriating their citizens and cooperating with us on this situation", a major burden for authorities in the de facto autonomous region.

About 75 boys and girls are living with their mothers in Kurdish-run camps in Syria, while a few are also in the extremist-run northwestern area of Idlib, according to Dutch authorities.

There are some 30 Dutch women and 15 men in Kurdish-run camps.

'About our safety'
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and their US-led coalition allies declared the defeat of ISIS in March 2019 after ousting radicals from their last Syrian stronghold in the eastern village of Baghouz.

Tens of thousands of people suspected of being wives and children of ISIS fighters have ended up in the Al-Hol camp.

Kurdish authorities warn the camp, hit by dozens of murders since early 2021, has emerged as an extremist powder keg.

The UN said in February it had documented cases of "radicalization, fundraising, training and incitement of external operations" at Al-Hol.

Anna Sophia Posthumus, spokeswoman for the Netherlands' justice and security ministry, said the country did not have a "general policy" of repatriating people from war-torn regions.

There has previously only been one exception to this policy, she said -- a 2019 case involving two minors.

The question of repatriating Dutch nationals in areas formerly held by ISIS is a thorny issue in the Netherlands.

"We would prefer a tribunal in the region" be set up to try suspects, Posthumus said. She noted that "discussions" had already taken place, but "it's still at a very... initial phase".

Prime Minister Mark Rutte's liberal VVD party has emphasized the security threat posed by such returns, while the center-left D66 party, a likely potential partner as he seeks to build a coalition, supports bringing back children on humanitarian grounds.

VVD politician Ingrid Michon tweeted that "We do everything that's possible to keep Netherlands safe. Then we should not pick up these ISIS-goers from Syria. This is about our safety. Stop this."

Far right-wing politician Geert Wilders said it was "unacceptable and unbearable" to repatriate women linked to ISIS fighters.

"Those terror women have forfeited their right to ever set foot on Dutch soil," he tweeted.



Israeli Strikes Kill 14 People in Gaza, Mediators Strive for a Truce Deal

 Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 5, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 5, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israeli Strikes Kill 14 People in Gaza, Mediators Strive for a Truce Deal

 Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 5, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City, January 5, 2025. (Reuters)

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 14 Palestinians in three separate attacks in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, taking the weekend death toll to 102, Palestinian medics said, as US and Arab mediators stepped up efforts to conclude a ceasefire deal.

Health officials said an Israeli airstrike killed five people in a house in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, while another airstrike killed four others in Jabalia in the northern edge of the enclave, where Israeli forces have been operating for three months.

Later on Sunday, an Israeli airstrike hit a police station in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing five people, medics said. It wasn't immediately clear if all the dead were policemen.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Sunday's strikes.

Earlier on Sunday, the health ministry of Hamas-run Gaza said Israeli strikes across the territory had killed at least 88 Palestinians and wounded more than 200 others in the past 24 hours.

In Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, relatives and neighbors rushed to the Zuhd family's house, which was struck by an Israeli airstrike late on Saturday, killing seven people, medics said. The search continued on Sunday morning for four others believed to be trapped under the rubble.

A hand belonging to one of the dead could be seen amongst the ruins, with the rest of his body buried under collapsed masonry. Three men removed dirt with their bare hands to retrieve bodies and search for possible survivors.

"Three young men, the son’s wife, and three children are still here. We retrieved this cousin of mine. Another cousin has been martyred and is now in the hospital. Approximately 11 people have been martyred here," Ammar Zuhd, a relative, told Reuters.

ISRAEL SAYS DOZENS OF HAMAS MILITANTS KILLED

The Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday that its forces had attacked more than 100 targets across Gaza over the weekend, killing dozens of Hamas fighters. It said it had also destroyed rocket launching sites that had been used to wage rocket attacks on Israel in recent days.

A renewed push is underway to reach a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, and return Israeli hostages who were taken to Gaza, before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Israeli negotiators were dispatched on Friday to resume talks in Doha brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators, while US President Joe Biden's administration, which is helping to mediate, urged Hamas to agree to a deal.

Hamas said it was committed to reaching an agreement as soon as possible, but it was unclear how close the two sides were.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza in response to an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas fighters on communities in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's military campaign, with the stated goal of eradicating Hamas, has leveled swathes of the enclave, driving most people from their homes, and has killed 45,805 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.