Latest news with #SyriaViolence
CTV News
3 days 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)
France 24
3 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
'Like a dream': Druze reunited across Golan Heights buffer zone
Young men drove around the area near the de facto border, waving the Druze flag with its five colourful stripes representing the pillars of their Druze faith, an esoteric offshoot of Shiite Islam. The area has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, separating the Golan Druze from their relatives across the demilitarised buffer zone. In the crowds, everyone asked for news of their families across the frontier, where days of violence in Syria's Druze-majority Sweida province have left hundreds dead since Sunday, according to a monitor. "Because of the dramatic situation in Syria, the murders, massacres and the violence, many people headed towards the border," said Qamar Abu Saleh, a 36-year-old educator, who lives in Majdal Shams. "They opened the fence and entered, and people from Syria also started crossing here. "It was like a dream, and we still can't believe it happened", she said enthusiastically, adding she came that day in the hope that the border would permanently reopen. "It was completely crazy," Amali Shufek, another resident, told AFP. Shufek, in her 50s, hoped to meet her uncle's family living on the Syrian-controlled side just a few kilometres away. She left her parents on chairs facing the fence, again guarded by the Israeli army, hoping it would open again so that she might meet her cousins. "I've only seen photos of them," she added. Talking all night Nearby, a group of men hugged one another while a small Druze child from across the frontier waved an Israeli flag. The boy's father, who did not disclose his name for security reasons, said they had come from the village of Hader, and that he had just spent a few hours with his cousins in Majdal Shams. "We didn't sleep all night, we only talked," he said. "I have goose bumps just seeing him here", said his cousin who lives on the Israeli-controlled side, adding that he wished for peace in the area so that these visits could become commonplace. In the afternoon, several Druze under Israeli army supervision were escorted through a hole in the ceasefire line fence back to Syrian-controlled territory. Israel, which is home to over 150,000 Druze, including those in the occupied Golan Heights, has presented itself as a defender of the minority group and bombed Syrian forces during the clashes in Sweida. Those living in Israel hold Israeli citizenship, but most of the roughly 23,000 from the occupied Golan do not and still identify as Syrians. Some analysts say that Israel is using the Druze as a pretext to pursue its own military goal of keeping Syrian government forces as far from their shared frontier as possible. Following former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's overthrow in December, the Israeli military took control of the UN-monitored demilitarised zone in the Golan Heights and conducted hundreds of strikes on military targets in Syria. Israel and Syria signed an armistice in 1974 after the Arab-Israeli war of the previous year, but never a formal peace treaty. Though Israel has made contact with Syria's new Islamist-led authorities, it has treaded with caution and is now showing clear antagonism towards them. 'Same family' A few local elders and Druze clerics wearing traditional clothing — a white veil covering the mouth for women and a red tarboush cap wrapped in a white cloth for men — had also come to watch the horizon. While the Druze are spread across Syria, Lebanon and Israel, they "all belong to the same family", Salim Safadi, a resident of a nearby village, told AFP. "I think we have some sort of agreement with Israel; when they have a problem we help them, and when we have a problem they help us," the 60-year-old lawyer said, pointing to the fact that many Druze serve in Israel's armed forces and police. He said he felt grateful for Israel's intervention in Syria's clashes, and that it was its involvement that brought the ceasefire announced Wednesday. "We condemn what is happening in Syria, it's a barbaric act", said Intisar Mahmud, a woman in her sixties shocked by the recent days' events. "Even animals don't do this -- they killed innocents", she added. "We ask the entire world to stand by our relatives in Syria", she said, adding that the current borders did not always exist and calling on people of the region to be like "the fingers of one hand".
France 24
3 days 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".
