Israel
Netanyahu calls for calm as Israeli Druze flock into Syria amid sectarian violence
Defence Secretary Israel Katz has pledged to continue military action until security forces withdraw from the area
July 16, 2025 09:25
Defence Secretary Israel Katz has pledged to continue military action until security forces withdraw from the area
July 16, 2025 09:25Benjamin Netanyahu has urged calm among Israel’s Druze community as its members storm across the border amid sectarian attacks against their comrades in Syria.
Fighters from Druze and Bedouin communities in the city of Sweida have clashed in recent weeks, with state security forces wading into the conflict, apparently to restore order, and beginning incursions into the city.
However, tensions with the new government are high given the recent history of attacks by state-affiliated militias on the Druze community.
President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who took power following the overthrow of the Assad regime last year, and his Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) party are former affiliates of Al Qaeda, which is hostile to the Shia-based minority due to religious and political disputes.
Israel’s Druze leaders have announced a general strike in solidarity with community members in Syria.
They also called on their citizens to be prepared to cross the border into Syria to support local fighters, saying: “Silence and standing by are not possible.”
In response, crowds of Druze men have been filmed running across the border, tearing down border fences and entering the country to defend their community in the city, despite Netanyahu’s calls for them to stay within the Jewish State.
Israel has also launched strikes against Syrian troops as they entered Sweida, destroying tanks and weapons stores.
The Druze originated as an offshoot of Islam but generally do not consider themselves to be Muslims.
The community maintains a close relationship with Israel, with around 150,000 Druze living in the Jewish State.
And the rate of IDF enlistment among Israeli Druze is one of the highest of any minority group.
As such, Israel generally tries to protect the community from persecution in Syria, with the IDF launching a wave of strikes on the capital Damascus earlier this year after another round of violence from HTS-linked militias.
More than 200 people have been killed in the recent violence, according to UK-based NGO the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Netanyahu confirmed that the IDF had launched strikes against security personnel and weapons stores in the area as it suspected they “intended to use [them] against the Druze.”
And Defence Minister Israel Katz pledge to continue strikes until Syrian forces left the city, saying: “The Syrian regime must leave the Druze in Sweida alone and withdraw its forces.
"As we have made clear and warned, Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria and will enforce the demilitarisation policy we have decided on.
"The IDF will continue to strike regime forces until they withdraw from the area, and will soon escalate its response against the regime if the message is not understood.”
Katz’s Syrian counterpart announced a ceasefire just hours before the strikes yesterday, which was opposed by Druze leaders, but the violence has now resumed.
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