Latest news with #GolanHeights
NHK
2 hours ago
- Politics
- NHK
Netanyahu lays down red lines for Syria
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Syrian leaders they have crossed his red lines. He said he will not let Syrian troops move south of Damascus and his military will do what it takes to protect the Druze people. He released a statement on Thursday saying Israel has set a clear policy: "Demilitarization of the region to south of Damascus, from the Golan Heights and to the Druze Mountain area, that's rule number one. Rule number two is protecting the brothers of our brothers, the Druze at the Druze Mountain." He noted that, "Both those rules were broken by the regime in Damascus." His statement came a day after heavy Israeli airstrikes hit military headquarters and other targets in the Syrian capital. Sectarian violence broke out in the southern city of Sweida over the weekend between local Bedouin tribes and members of the Druze religious minority. The interim Syrian government sent troops to intervene, but they later were targeted by the Israeli airstrikes. The IDF said the attacks were aimed at protecting the Druze. Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa vowed on Thursday to protect the Druze community, and condemned Israel for trying to fracture Syria. Suzuki Hiroyuki, a Middle East expert and project associate professor at the University of Tokyo, said Israel is using its pledge to protect the Druze as a pretext to launch attacks. He said the interim government has not been able to seize control of the whole nation yet and he believes that "Israel is trying to prevent armed militias and Syrian troops from coming in by unilaterally setting up demilitarized buffer zones in southern Syria near the Golan Heights." The situation remains volatile. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Israeli forces have moved across the buffer zone, and advanced into a Druze town inside Syria. It calls the incursion a "rare field development" within the border.
LBCI
6 hours ago
- Politics
- LBCI
Erdogan accuses Israel of using the Druze as a pretext to expand into Syria
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday accused Israel of using the Druze minority in Syria as a pretext for expanding into the war-torn country. "Israel, using the Druze as an excuse, has been expanding its banditry into neighbouring Syria over the past two days," Erdogan said in a televised speech after the weekly cabinet meeting. AFP
CTV News
7 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Who are the Druze and why does Israel say it is hitting Syria for their sake?
Druze gunmen stand next to a checkpoint a day after clashes between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters left at least four people dead in the southern suburb of Jaramana, Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Violence in Syria pitting the Islamist-led government against members of the Druze community has put a spotlight on the small but influential minority. Straddling Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Druze occupy a special niche in the region's complex politics. Israel has cited protecting the Druze as a reason for attacking forces from the Islamist-led government this week. Who are the Druze? The Druze are Arabs who follow a religion derived from a branch of Islam. They maintain a degree of secrecy about the practice of their faith that emerged in the 11th century and incorporates elements from Islam and other philosophies, emphasizing monotheism, reincarnation and the pursuit of truth. Some hardline Sunni Muslims deem them heretics. Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, an Islamist who once belonged to al Qaeda, called them part of the Syrian fabric and vowed to protect their rights in a speech on Thursday. Where do they live? Syria's Druze are concentrated in the southwest in the Sweida region bordering Jordan and in areas of Quneitra province, near the occupied Golan. They also reside in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana. In Israel, Druze reside primarily in the north and the occupied Golan. In Lebanon, they are concentrated in mountain regions, including Chouf and Aley, and others such as Hasbaya in south Lebanon. How do they fit into regional politics? Though a small minority, the Druze have often played an outsized role in the politics of countries where they live. In Israel, the Druze number 150,000. Unlike Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, many Druze Arabs serve in the Israeli military and police, including during the war in Gaza, and some have reached a high rank, meaning their voices cannot be easily ignored by Israel's political leadership. While most Druze in Israel identify as Israeli citizens, more than 20,000 living in the occupied Golan still identify as Syrians and have close ties to family on the other side of the border. Facing calls from Israeli Druze to help Syrian Druze, Israeli leaders have cited protecting them as a reason for attacking Syria repeatedly this year. Syria's Druze population is estimated to number around 1 million people. They held some protests against Bashar al-Assad after the eruption of the war in 2011 but there was little conflict between them and Damascus as it focused on trying to crush the uprising in Sunni-majority areas. Since Assad was toppled in December, friction with the Islamist-led authorities has ignited fighting several times. While some Druze leaders have urged accommodation with Damascus, others have come out strongly against Sharaa, notably Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, who urged resistance to government forces and appealed to world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during this week's violence. Some Druze figures have criticized this approach. Lebanon's Walid Jumblatt, one of region's most prominent Druze politicians, has rejected the notion that Israel is protecting Syria's Druze. He has warned against calls for international protection and called for Syrian national unity. What is driving Israel's intervention? Israel bombed Syria frequently when Assad was in power, seeking to roll back the influence established by Iran and Iran-backed groups that deployed there to help him fight rebels. Israel has painted the new Syrian government as a jihadist threat, saying it won't allow it to deploy forces into southern Syria. Israel has said it wants to avoid any hostile build-up at its border, whilst also vowing to protect the Druze minority. Israeli troops have also seized Syrian territory adjoining the occupied Golan Heights since December. Sharaa on Thursday said Israel was promoting division among Syrians, accusing it of seeking to 'dismantle the unity of our people,' saying it had 'consistently targeted our stability and created discord among us since the fall of the former regime.' (Additional reporting by Crispian Balmer in Jerusalem and Laila Bassam in Beirut; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Edmund Blair and Sharon Singleton)
Washington Post
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Turmoil gives Druze divided between Syria and Israel rare moment of contact
MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights — As violence exploded inside Syria between the Druze religious minority and the new government in Damascus, neighboring Israel's own Druze community was watching closely. Amid the swirling reports of fighting and accusations of massacres, hundreds of Israeli Druze massed at Israel's northern border in solidarity with their long separated co-religionists — and in many cases close family members — just across the border.
France 24
11 hours ago
- Politics
- France 24
Who are the Druze, and why are they at the heart of Syria-Israel tensions?
Violence in Syria pitting the Islamist-led government against members of the Druze community has put a spotlight on the small but influential minority. Straddling Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Druze occupy a special niche in the region's complex politics. Israel has cited protecting the Druze as a reason for attacking forces from the Islamist-led government this week. Who are the Druze? The Druze are Arabs who follow a religion derived from a branch of Islam. They maintain a degree of secrecy about the practice of their faith that emerged in the 11th century and incorporates elements from Islam and other philosophies, emphasising monotheism, reincarnation and the pursuit of truth. Some hardline Sunni Muslims deem them heretics. Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, an Islamist who once belonged to al Qaeda, called them part of the Syrian fabric and vowed to protect their rights in a speech on Thursday. Where do they live? Syria's Druze are concentrated in the southwest in the Sweida region bordering Jordan and in areas of Quneitra province, near the occupied Golan. They also reside in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana. In Israel, Druze reside primarily in the north and the occupied Golan. In Lebanon, they are concentrated in mountain regions, including Chouf and Aley, and others such as Hasbaya in south Lebanon. How do they fit into regional politics? Though a small minority, the Druze have often played an outsized role in the politics of countries where they live. In Israel, the Druze number 150,000. Unlike Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, many Druze Arabs serve in the Israeli military and police, including during the war in Gaza, and some have reached a high rank, meaning their voices cannot be easily ignored by Israel's political leadership. While most Druze in Israel identify as Israeli citizens, more than 20,000 living in the occupied Golan still identify as Syrians and have close ties to family on the other side of the border. Facing calls from Israeli Druze to help Syrian Druze, Israeli leaders have cited protecting them as a reason for attacking Syria repeatedly this year. Syria's Druze population is estimated to number around 1 million people. They held some protests against Bashar al-Assad after the eruption of the war in 2011 but there was little conflict between them and Damascus as it focused on trying to crush the uprising in Sunni-majority areas. Since Assad was toppled in December, friction with the Islamist-led authorities has ignited fighting several times. While some Druze leaders have urged accommodation with Damascus, others have come out strongly against Sharaa, notably Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, who urged resistance to government forces and appealed to world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during this week's violence. Some Druze figures have criticised this approach. Lebanon's Walid Jumblatt, one of region's most prominent Druze politicians, has rejected the notion that Israel is protecting Syria's Druze. He has warned against calls for international protection and called for Syrian national unity. What is driving Israel's intervention? Israel bombed Syria frequently when Assad was in power, seeking to roll back the influence established by Iran and Iran-backed groups that deployed there to help him fight rebels. Israel has painted the new Syrian government as a jihadist threat, saying it won't allow it to deploy forces into southern Syria. Israel has said it wants to avoid any hostile build-up at its border, whilst also vowing to protect the Druze minority. Israeli troops have also seized Syrian territory adjoining the occupied Golan Heights since December. Sharaa on Thursday said Israel was promoting division among Syrians, accusing it of seeking to "dismantle the unity of our people", saying it had "consistently targeted our stability and created discord among us since the fall of the former regime".
