The crisis in Syria's Sweida and its threat on Israel's northern border
Thousands of members of the Druze community in Sweida in southern Syria were massacred and looted this past July. What began as the local murder of a young Druze man in Damascus quickly escalated into a wave of kidnappings, mass killings, and large-scale attacks by pro-Turkish militias and local Bedouin elements. These crimes were documented and spread on social media as part of a terror campaign. To this moment, the population remains under a brutal siege — and the world is silent.
'At the time, I said that when [Bashar] Assad falls, Israel should lower its flag to half-mast — I was not mistaken,' IDF Col. (res.) Dr. Anan Wahabi told Walla.
Wahabi, a fellow at the ICT at Reichman University, served in the IDF Intelligence Directorate, commanded operational units, and headed Israel's international strategic perception, psychological warfare, and cyber operations efforts.
'There's a de facto siege on the Druze there. It's a terror attack on the Druze,' he added, drawing parallels to October 7: 'It's terror from the same source that justifies murder, rape, and looting.'
Now, the ICT warns: Israel cannot allow hostile terrorist forces to gain a foothold on its northern border. The question is not whether to intervene — but how. Sweida has become 'the arena the world forgot,' but Israel cannot ignore it. For the Jewish state, this is a double test: a test of morality toward the Druze community facing an existential crisis, and strategic, regarding threats to its northern border and the regional tensions as a whole.
The position paper warned that over-involvement could drag Israel into a war of attrition in Syria, further damage relations with Turkey, and even ignite internal protests among Druze citizens of Israel — potentially leading to refusal to serve in the security forces. The paper was initiated by Reichman University President Prof. Boaz Ganor, a pioneer in the academic study of terrorism and founder of the ICT, and prepared by eight ICT fellows, including Wahabi.
But if Israel sits on the sidelines, terrorist organizations could entrench themselves near the border, and southern Syria could become a base for attacks. On the diplomatic front, there are concerns that the new regime led by Al-Shaara could exploit the crisis to build international legitimacy as a 'terrorist in a suit.'
On the other hand, the report points to the diplomatic potential in this tectonic shift. Israel could cultivate ties with Arab groups in preparation for 'the day after,' the Gaza war, strengthen its commitment to the Druze within Israel, and send a message of solidarity to all minorities in Syria, which could contribute to stabilizing southern areas of the country, strengthen the moderate regional bloc led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and secure its position as a central partner in a broad regional settlement led by the United States.
US Republican Congressman Abraham Hamadeh, a former US Army reserve intelligence officer, made the first visit in decades by a US official traveling between Jerusalem and Damascus. He spent six hours in Syria this week to meet with President al-Sharaa. He also addressed the need for a secure humanitarian corridor to ensure safe delivery of medical and humanitarian aid to Sweida.
He also addressed the need for a secure humanitarian corridor to ensure safe delivery of medical and humanitarian aid to Sweida — explicitly to advance former President Donald Trump's 'peace through strength' policy and to push Syria at this time toward normalization with Israel and joining the Abraham Accords.
Until that happens, the report warns: overt Israeli involvement could be perceived as 'stamping an Israeli mark' on the Druze, making them even more isolated within Syria. Images coming from Syria of Druze waving the Israeli flag in gratitude for Israel's support are being framed in Syria and the Arab world as collusion with the enemy.
Act cautiously, combine aid, diplomacy, limited military action
The report details a series of steps Israel should adopt:
1. Controlled humanitarian aid – expand shipments of medicine and food, but via international mechanisms (Red Crescent, UN) to avoid harming the Druze.
2. Limited military action – avoid inserting ground forces and carry out only precise airstrikes in case of a direct threat to the border or the Druze.
3. Diplomatic measures – maintain close coordination with the US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan, but also keep a secret dialogue channel with Turkey to avoid direct confrontation.
4. Information campaign – expose the massacres through international media, mainly Al Jazeera, and counter propaganda portraying the Druze as 'Israel's proxy.'
5. Managing expectations with Israel's Druze – establish a joint command room with community leadership, allow legitimate protest but set red lines against attempts at independent action across the border.
6. Caution regarding autonomy – Israel shouldn't lead the initiative, but support it indirectly through civilian aid to avoid stigmatizing the Druze or provoking retribution.
The emerging humanitarian corridor could serve as an interim solution — if managed carefully, with broad coordination and discretion. Ultimately, the real question is not only whether Israel will help the Druze, but how it will do so without making them even more isolated in their homeland.
Wahabi believes that funding from Turkey and Qatar, which works to incriminate Israel's activities in Gaza, is working day and night to divert international attention away from what is happening in Syria.
'First, they created the crisis by essentially renewing an old historic conflict between the Druze and the Bedouin of Jabal al-Druze," according to him, "Along with that came a supposedly spontaneous call for help to the tribes and all of Syria — and suddenly forces arrive in large numbers from Turkish-controlled areas, with new vehicles, equipment, weapons, fuel, salaries — everything. Israel views this area as a demilitarized zone, but suddenly there's this side-story, an interim situation, that no one quite knows how to handle.'
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