The threat is not veiled. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Syria on Wednesday that his country was going to carry him “painful blows” after the violence that broke out in the region with a Druze majority of Soueida.
“The signals launched in Damascus are finished, now come the painful blows,” said the minister, promising that the Israeli army “would forcefully operate” in Soueida, in southern Syria, “to eliminate the forces that attacked the Druzes until their complete withdrawal”.
The results of the violence in southern Syria are more than 300 dead since Sunday, according to an NGO while a cease-fire was announced this Wednesday, a first proclaimed Tuesday having remained without effect.
“As we have clearly indicated and warned, Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria and impose the demilitarization policy” in the south of the country announced after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, in December, said the Minister earlier, quoted by his services. The Israeli army “will increase the intensity of its responses against the regime if the message is not understood,” he added.
The Israeli army bombed Syrian government forces on Monday and Tuesday on Tuesday and Tuesday in Soueida, while they entered this city in the main Druze in southern Syria.
Strong presence of Druze
On Monday, Israel announced that he had struck several tanks of government forces in this region and added that it would not allow military presence in southern Syria.
“The presence of these [chars] In southern Syria could constitute a threat to the state of Israel, “said the Israeli army in a message on Telegram. For his part, the Minister of Israeli Defense, Israel Katz, said that his country will not allow evil to the Druze in Syria. Israel will not remain his arms crossed, “he said on the social network X.
The protection of the Druzes by Israel is explained in particular by the strong presence of the minority on its soil as well as on the Golan Plateau, a Syrian territory occupied by the Hebrew State since the six -day war in 1967. According to the latest data available, out of the 152,000 Druzes present in Lebanon and Israel, 24,000 live in the part of the Golan.
Such Aviv helps the Druzes, as well as other minorities in the region, following an interested logic. “Israel supports the Druze in Syria with the desire to divide its neighbor, to weaken it. This solidarity between minorities is reminiscent of the support provided to the Kurds, “explained to the newspaper Le Figaro, Michel Duclos, former French ambassador to Syria.
The history between this community and the Hebrew state, however, takes on a singular character. In the same article, Frédérique Schillo, a historian specialist in Israel, explained that “they are one of the few non-Jewish minorities to be authorized to serve in the Army and the Israeli police”. A “blood pact” unites the community to Tsahal. “5000 Druzes fell in battle since Israeli independence in 1948, including 14 since October 7,” he said.
Have an ally in the region
At the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the Israeli army extended its positions to the Golan, seizing a buffer zone set up by the UN. To help the Druze, Benyamin Netanyahu subsequently sent humanitarian parcels and have twice authorized delegations of religious dignitaries to go to Israel for a pilgrimage, despite the state of war between the two countries.
Following the clashes at the end of April and the Israeli intervention, Michael Horowitz, independent analyst, told AFP that Israel, “by placing herself as a protector of the Druze community, hopes both to be local allies, particularly in the South Syrian, but also to weigh in the balance at a time when the future of Syria remains uncertain”.
Several Druzes demonstrations took place this Tuesday in northern Israel following the clashes in Syria. The demonstrators claim that the Israeli government intervenes more to help this community, the Times of Israel report.
