On Wednesday, the Israeli army launched new strikes in Damascus, targeting the presidential palace and the headquarters of the Syrian Staff, along with other sites, and the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, justified these strikes that his state is obligated to “protect the Druze”.
The endosperm governorate witnessed bloody confrontations during the past few days between local clans and factions, killing about 300 people, prompting the Syrian army to intervene, with the aim of overseeing a ceasefire agreed with the dignitaries and notables of the city.
Israeli officials said that the Syrian army was coordinated with Israel before entering the endosperm “but he violated the understanding,” noting that coordination was not to enter heavy weapons.
An Israeli military official said that his country “will not allow a military crowd on its borders with southern Syria.”
Who are the Druze?
The Druze is an Arab sect, the origin of its appearance dates back to the 11th century AD, and the number of its members at the present time is about one million people who live mainly in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.
In southern Syria, they are concentrated in three main governorates near the Golan Heights, and most of them live in the Suwayda Governorate.
More than 20 thousand Druze lives in the Golan, which Israel controlled during the 1967 war, and included in 1981.
According to the American “CNN”, the Druze lives in the Golan along with about 25,000 Jewish settlers distributed over more than 30 settlements.
She pointed out that most of the Druze in the Golan consider themselves Syrians, and they rejected Israeli citizenship when Israel took control of the region, and gave them Israeli residence cards instead of nationality.
Ahmed Al -Shara and Druze
After the overthrow of the Bashar al -Assad regime, the new Syrian President Ahmed al -Sharaa pledged to contain and protect all the sects consisting of Syrian society, but confrontations took place in the areas of the Druze presence, especially in the Suwayda governorate.
According to “CNN”, the issue of disarmament of the Druze factions and their integration into the national army is essential to straining the relationship between them and the new government.
The source pointed out that the Sharia failed to reach an agreement with the Druze who insist on maintaining their weapons.
Why did Israel interfere?
On Tuesday, the Netanyahu office said that Israel is obligated to prevent the harm to the Druze in Syria, where approximately 130,000 Israeli Druze lives in the Carmel and Galilee region in northern Israel.
Unlike other minorities inside Israel, the men have been recruiting the Druze since 1957 in the Israeli army, and many of them have obtained a high rank in the army and other security services.
After the Syrian army intervened in the endosperm, the spiritual leader of the Druze Almohad community in Syria, Hijri, ruled in a photo statement published on Tuesday: “We are subjected to a comprehensive extermination war.”
On the other hand, in a previous statement issued on Tuesday morning, the Druze spiritual presidency welcomed the entry of government forces to As -Suwayda, calling on the armed factions to cooperate with them “and not to resist their entry and hand over their weapons to the Ministry of Interior.”
Peace opportunities
Israel has taken control of more Syrian territory, and continued to carry out repeated strikes inside the country since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, claiming that military capabilities are rebuilding and eradicating security threats.
“CNN” stated that the United States is trying to direct the Middle East region towards a new path, with Syria signing peace agreements with Israel.
A senior US administration official told CNN last month that “Syria’s interest is to tend towards Israel,” a senior US administration official told CNN last month.
Later, after his first meeting with the Syrian President, Trump announced the lifting of US sanctions on Syria to reintegrate it into the international community.
