Israel escalates Syria strikes —in name of protecting Druze

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[11]Syrian Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri accused the interim government of carrying out a "genocidal attack" on his community following two days of sectarian violence that left 100 dead. Clashes broke out in the Damascus suburbs of Jaramana [12] and Sahnaya, and armed residents began to mobilize in the Druze-majority southern city of Suwayda before a truce was reached. But by then Israel had escalated its military intervention [13] in Syria, launching air-strikes on targets around Damascus. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF had "struck an extremist group" that was killing members of the Druze community. This is presumably a reference to the now ostensibly disbanded Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS [13]), the leading faction in the forces that took power in Syria and formed the transition government late last year. It is unclear who launched the attacks that sparked the fighting, which were condemned by the interim government. (Map: PCL [14])

Syrian Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri accused the interim government on May 1 of carrying out a "genocidal attack" on his community following two days of sectarian violence that left 100 dead. Al-Hijri said: "We no longer trust an organization that claims to be a government. A government does not kill its people through takfiri gangs to which it belongs." Takfiri is a popular pejorative [15] used by Shi'ites and Druze for Sunni militants. Clashes broke out in the Damascus suburbs of Jaramana [12] and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, and armed residents began to mobilize in the Druze-majority southern city of Sweida (Suwayda) before a truce was reached. (Al-Monitor [16], Al-Jazeera [17])

But by then Israel had escalated its military intervention [13] in Syria, launching air-strikes on targets around the Damascus area—ostensibly in response to the attacks on the Druze. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF had conducted "a warning operation and struck an extremist group" that was killing members of the Druze community. This is presumably a reference to the now ostensibly disbanded Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS [13]), the leading faction in the forces that took power in Syria and formed the transition government late last year. Israel acknowledged that some of the strikes targeted areas near the presidential palace in Damascus.

A Syrian Foreign Ministry statement rejected "all forms of foreign intervention" in the country's internal affairs, without explicitly mentioning Israel, and declared the interim government's commitment to protecting all Syrian groups "including the noble Druze sect." It is unclear who launched the initial attacks that sparked the fighting. (Reuters [18], AFP [19])

The spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, said in a ceremony at the military cemetery in the town of Usfiya on April 30: "I urge the state of Israel, the international community, and the Jewish people to act immediately to prevent a massacre. Israel must not stand idly by while this is happening in Syria. The responsibility to act lies with the nation's leaders: you must act. The time for action is now." (Jerusalem Post [20])

Hundreds of Druze citizens and military reservists marched and blocked roads in towns across Israel the following day, demanding stronger government action in response to the violence in Syria. (YNet [21])