The IDF on Wednesday struck a Syrian extremist group that was planning to attack the Druze community in As-Suweida, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday.
“Israel will not allow harm to come to the Druze community in Syria, out of a deep commitment to our Druze brothers in Israel, who are tied by family and historical bonds to their Druze brothers in Syria,” they said in a joint statement.
Israel expects the Syrian government to prevent harm to the Druze community, the statement said.
Katz and Netanyahu praised the “great contribution of the Druze community to Israel’s security and the Druze who gave their lives in defense of the State of Israel.”
In return, Israel sees “great importance in fulfilling our commitment to the Druze community in Israel and in protecting their brothers in Syria.”
Druze protests
The spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, on Wednesday said: “The eyes and hearts of the Israeli Druze community are turned toward the suffering in Druze villages around Damascus.”
“I urge the State of Israel, the international community, and the Jewish people to act immediately to prevent a massacre,” he said at the Druze military ceremony in Usfiya. “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.”
The military cemetery in Usfiya is the first of its kind established in a Druze town. It commemorates 435 fallen Druze soldiers from the community, including 13 who have died in Operation Swords of Iron. Twenty Circassians are also memorialized there.
For many years, fallen Druze soldiers and security personnel have been buried in other Druze towns with military cemeteries. The ceremony in Usfiya differs slightly from those held in Jewish military cemeteries
Tarif read verses from Surah Al-Fatiha, the opening chapter of the Quran, which is sacred to the Druze.
“I want the country’s leaders and representatives to look into the eyes of the bereaved families gathered here around the graves on this mountain, which symbolizes the Druze-Jewish bond, and ask themselves: Have you done enough for the sons and grandsons of the hundreds of fallen from the Druze community?” he said.
Former prime ministers Ehud Olmert and Naftali Bennett attended the ceremony, as well as Education Minister Yoav Kisch, who represented the government. Former cabinet minister Ayoub Kara was also present.
Representing the Israel Police was Deputy Border Police Commissioner Brig.-Gen. Ami Nidam. The IDF was represented by Maj.-Gen. Ghassan Alian, head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).
Prior to the ceremony, Kisch held a meeting with Tarif, Kara, and other Druze dignitaries to assure them that the IDF would not remain passive in the face of attacks on the Druze community in Syria.
“The State of Israel does not forget its moral and ethical duty to stand by the Druze there, our blood brothers, and will do everything in its power to ensure their safety and well-being,” he said.
In addition to concern for hostages, the IDF, and security forces, speakers also raised criticism over issues such as the Nation-State Law and the Kaminitz Law.
“We must repeal the Kaminitz Law,” said Rafiq Sharuf, who stood beside his uncle’s grave at the cemetery. “It cannot be that a Druze soldier gets a draft order and also receives an order to demolish his home at the same time.”
Also on Wednesday, dozens of Druze protested at Kafr Yasif junction, near Acre, in response to sectarian clashes that took place over the past day in Jaramana, near Damascus.
During the protest, tires were set on fire, and major routes, including access to military cemeteries, were blocked, causing traffic congestion.
The protests were illegal, and police officers were present at the scene to maintain public order and help participants in various Remembrance Day ceremonies reach their destinations safely, the police said.
More than a dozen people were killed in the predominantly Druze town near the Syrian capital on Tuesday in clashes sparked by a purported recording of a Druze man cursing the Prophet Mohammad, which angered Sunni gunmen, rescuers and security sources said.
Half of those killed were members of the Druze community, and the rest were Syrian security personnel who were trying to break up the violence.