'
Who are the Druze, and why does Israel say that attacking Syria helps them?
International

Who are the Druze, and why does Israel say that attacking Syria helps them?

author
4 minutes, 26 seconds Read

Israel says that it is striking Syria to defend the Druze, a minority group with long -term roots in the region and a history of tensions on the doorstep.
On Sundays, collisions broke out between factions of the Druze religious minority and Bedouin tribes in southern Syria, so that more than 100 people were dead – causing Syrian troops to intervene.
That in turn caused renewed Israeli air strikes, also in the Syrian capital Damascus.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government is “dedicated to prevent damage to the Druze in Syria” and “acts to prevent the Syrian regime from damaging them”.

He said that Israel wants to “take care of the demilitarization of the area next to” their border in southern Syria.

While the Druzen population is mainly concentrated in Sweida, Israeli strikes extends outside the region – the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense damaged and the area near the presidential palace in Damascus.

The statement of Israel that it stands out for Syria to protect the Druze is challenged by most of the minority group outside of Israel.

Who are the Druze?

The Druzen are a religious minority group with a population of about a million, based in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel.
Faith originated in Egypt in the 11th century and practices a spur of Islam. However, most followers do not identify as Muslims.
With around 700,000 from the beginning of the 2020, Syria has the largest Druzen population in the world. Most of them live in the south of the country, around Sweida, close to the Golan heights occupied by Israel.
The Golan Heights were captured by Israel from Syria during the six -day war in 1967.
Israel also has a considerable Druzen community of around 140,000 people, who mainly live in the northern regions.

Unlike other Arabian Israelis, some Druze serve in the defense forces of Israel.

According to the Israeli army on Wednesday, hundreds of Druze from the Golan Heights crossed to Syria in response to calls from their leaders to help the community. Source: EPA / Atef Safadi

Druze men over the age of 18 are reportedly service in the Israeli army since 1957 and often have risen to high -ranking positions, while many serve in the police and security forces.

About 20,000 Druze live in the Golan Heights, in addition to 25,000 Jewish settlers.

But the vast majority of Druzen who lives in the Golan heights regards itself as Syrian, with only around 1600 the supply of Israeli citizenship.

Why does Israel say that it protects them?

The Islamic authorities of Syria have had tense relations with the religious and ethnic minorities of the country and are accused not to do enough to protect them.
The recent tensions started with conflicts between drown religious minority acts and Sunni Bedouin tribes, which led to more than 100 dead.
Syrian government forces sent reinforcements to the region in the south of the country and said it wants to restore safety.
But witnesses said that the government forces had joined the Bedouins with the attacking of Druze hunters and citizens.

In response, Israel launched attacks on Syrian government forces that were on their way to Sweida and said that it protected the Druzen -there.

Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community of Israel, described the situation as “an existential battle for the Druze community”.
Before the attacks expanded to air strikes on Damascus, the Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, said these attacks would continue until the troops of the Syrian government “withdraw from the area”.
“[Israel] Will also increase the series of responses to the regime soon if the message is not understood, “he said.
But Druze in Syria has generally rejected the intervention by Israel.

“We don’t ask anyone for protection and we will not ask for protection of someone,” Rabih Mundhir, a Druze leader in southern Syria, told the New York Times earlier this year.

Some Druze politicians outside of Syria have said that the motivation of Israel “does not protect the Druze in Sweida, as it claims”.
“But earlier [Israel] Uses some local leaders to justify his interventions under this pretext, “Walid Jumblatt, a Druze Lebanese politician and former militia commander, told Syrian media.
Israel is also supposed to have wider strategic interests in supporting the minority group, including supporting a federal vision for Syria.
The Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in December 2024: “Thinking that Syria will be a single country with effective control and sovereignty throughout his territory is unrealistic.
“It is logical to strive for autonomy for the different minorities in Syria, perhaps with a federal structure. This is something that the international community will take into account.”
The interim president of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, promised on Thursday that those behind violence against the Druze-myness would be held responsible.
“We would like to be responsible for those who have violated and abused our Druze people because they are under the protection and responsibility of the state,” Sharaa said in a television on television.
The Syrian government announced a new cease-fire in Sweida on Wednesday and stopped there for military operations, and said the army had begun to withdraw from the city of Druze Majority.
-With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse

#Druze #Israel #attacking #Syria #helps

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *