French journalist Sylvain Mercadier has been arrested by Israeli forces in Syria while covering the army’s advance in the country.

According to French outlet Marianne, to which he contributed, Mercadier was accompanied by a Syrian lawyer named Mohammad Fayad at the time of his arrest, which took place in the village of al-Hmidaiah.

A Syrian journalist who was also on the scene said Mercadier was arrested while negotiating permission to film the Israeli forces that were arriving in the village.

“He 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.

Israel says it is protecting its borders from turmoil in Syria, but critics say it is looking to expand and settle more territory.