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Israels’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on March 1 to “prepare to defend” the Druze area of Jaramana in the southern outskirts of the Syrian capital, Damascus, following threats from the Islamist government ruling the country.
Government forces clashed with local Druze fighters in the area during a security campaign the day before, according to Syrian media.
At least one officer was killed, while another was captured and later released.
Later pro-government fighters came from the Damascus suburb of Mleiha to Jaramana, where they clashed with Druze fighters. The fire fight left one Druze fighter dead and nine other people wounded, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In a statement, the office of the Israeli Defense Minister said that Jaramana was “currently under attack by the forces of the Syrian regime.”
“We will not allow the extreme Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, it will be struck by us,” Katz said.
“We are committed to our Druze brothers in Israel to do everything to prevent harm to their Druze brothers in Syria, and we will take all the steps required to maintain their safety,” he added.
There was no response from the Syrian government. However, Al-Jazeera reported that government forces had asked Druze fighters in Jarmana to hand over the ones responsible for the killing of the officer within five days. This indicates that the government, which was installed by the terro-designated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham group after the fall of the Assad regime, is determined to go on with the confrontation.
The IDF launched a military operation in Syria just hours after the fall of the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad on December 8, occupying the buffer zone adjacent to the occupied Golan Heights and launching hundreds of strikes against the advanced equipment and weapons of the former Syrian Arab Army.
Since then, Israeli leaders have publicly warned the Syrian government not to harm the Druze in southwestern Syria, and have regularly spoken with foreign leaders about the importance of protecting them, along with Syria’s Kurds. They have also talked about the violence against the Alawites, the country’s largest minority.
Last week, Netanyahu said troops would stay on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon and the buffer zone in the Golan Heights for “an unlimited period of time.”
“We demand full demilitarization of southern Syria from troops of the new Syrian regime in the Quneitra, Daraa and Suweyda provinces,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel will not accept any threats to Druze in southern Syria.
It was also reported last week that Israel had begun staff work on a pilot program that would allow Syrian Druze to work in Israeli towns on the Golan Heights.
The program was initiated by the Druze of the Golan Heights, who asked Israeli security officials and the military to assist their Druze brethren over the border, according to the Kan public broadcaster. The plan was being drawn up by IDF Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, who heads the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and is Druze himself.
The recent developments indicate that Israel is planning to escalate even further against Syria using the government discrimination against Druze and other minorities as an excuse. The Syrian government’s failure to address the concerns of the minorities could end the unity of Syria.
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