Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The leaders of the Alawite in Syria have appealed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asking for protection from the forces of the country’s Islamist government which killed more than 1,200 civilians from the minority group during a crackdown on the coast over the past week.
According to i24NEWS, the letter was sent to Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, through contacts in the region and intermediaries between the local population in Syria and Israel.
The government’s crackdown on the coast, the heartland of the Alawites, began earlier this week when a rebellion broke out following months of violations. The Alawites are Syria’s largest minority group. The family of former president Bashar al-Assad belongs to the sect.
The rebels saw initial success in Latakia, Qardaha, Jableh, Banias and Tartus. However, they quickly were overpowered by government forces. Since then, Alawites civilians have been targeted en masse.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based monitoring group, 47 separate massacres have taken place on the coast so far, with a total of at least 1,225 victims.
“Following the fall of Assad’s regime, and after the massacres that took place in Alawite areas against our people, we call on the Israeli government to provide protection, assistance, and support,” Alawite leaders said in the letter, noting that “the world is silent about the massacres happening in Syria,” while only the voice of the State of Israel is heard.
In addition, the Alawite community leaders said, “we reach out to you and will be your most loyal and good friends.”
“We are a minority like you in the Middle East,” the letter read. “Help us, and if you reach the Syrian coast, which is mostly Alawite, you will be received with songs and flowers.”
Several requested were presented in the letter, including: The IDF deploys its forces, including the Israel Air Force, to protect the community; The Defense Ministry sends warships towards the coast of Syria; The Israeli Foreign Ministry raises to the international level the crimes committed against the Druze, andIsraeli media “shed light” on the massacre happening in Syria.
The letter also called to unite “against the Islamic arrogance led by Turkey, help us to separate from this extremist country.”
In addition to the high death toll, the massacres displaced at least 10,000 Alawites to the governorate of Baalbek-Hermel in eastern Lebanon. More than 7,000 others are taking shelter at Russia’s Khmeimim Air Base near Jableh.
Following the fall of the Assad regime, Israel expanded its influence within the country, occupying a vast part of its southern region and destroying much of its military capabilities.
Netanyahu said last month that southern Syria must be completely demilitarized, warning that Israel would not accept the presence of the forces of the new Syrian Islamists government near its territory. The primer also warned the government against attacking the Druze minority, vowing to defend the minority.
The Alawites appear to be hoping for a special arrangement with Israel similar to that secured by the Druze in the south. Nevertheless, it won’t be easy to convince the Israel government of such a move. Israel lacks trust in the Alawites due to the former regime’s close ties to Iran. In addition, the Israeli military is still exhausted from fighting on the fronts with the Gaza Strip and Lebanon for over a year.
Still, the bold move by the Alawites shows how the Syrian interim government is threatening the unity of Syria by failing to respect the rights of all of its citizens.
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