Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar made some interesting new comments over the weekend about the situation in Syria, where the Israeli military (IDF) is currently occupying entire areas of the southern part of the country following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad on December 8.
Sa’ar described Syria’s new government, led by self-proclaimed President Ahmed al-Sharaa (Jolani), as a “bunch of jihadists” who were “not elected by the Syrian people.”
A top Israeli diplomat stressed at a press conference in Jerusalem that “it is important that the new rulers in Damascus respect the rights of minorities” and emphasized that “we also have a Druze community here in Israel.”
We should note that the irony, of course, is that Israel had been supporting Islamist anti-Assad rebels, including al-Qaeda elements, from the beginning of the war – as even a CIA official admitted at the time.
The remarks came after fighting engulfed the Damascus suburb of Jaramana. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters in Jaramana are clashing with Druze fighters in an attempt to disarm all other groups except the HTS fighters of the Jaramana regime. Syrian Christians also have a strong presence in Jaramana.
The Druze are an ethno-religious minority within Islam, considered heretical by Sunnis. Their communities are found in Syria, Lebanon, the Golan Heights region, and some parts of Israel/Palestine. In Syria, they are mostly located in the south and tend to live in mixed villages with Christians in the ancient Hauran region.
Importantly, Israel may use the Syrian civil war to launch further military intervention and ground offensives, after reports indicated that the IDF already has units just 20-25 km south of Damascus.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Saturday ordered the Israeli Defense Forces to “prepare to defend” the Druze-majority town of Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus, Syria.
A statement from Katz’s office said the Damascus suburb of Jaramana is “currently under attack by Syrian regime forces.”
Some regional reports say the current fighting began when an HTS fighter entered Jaramana and began firing into the air, followed by killing by local Druze armed groups. In many areas of Syria, local residents have refused to surrender their weapons and form local patrols, distrusting HTS leadership.
At least one HTS fighter was killed and possibly more wounded in the recent internal battle…
As for Israel Katz, he stated: “We will not allow the extremist Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, we will strike back.” He added: “We are committed to our Israeli Druze brothers to do everything possible to prevent harm to their brothers in Syria, and we will take all necessary steps to ensure their safety.”
However, Israel is using this new crisis, rather than the newly discovered humanitarian problem of Syria’s religious minorities, to justify greater military intervention in Syria – and perhaps even the extent of its ground occupation of the war-torn country. The Israeli military has already launched airstrikes, mainly targeting former Syrian Arab Army bases, to destroy any remaining heavy weapons. Some Israeli officials have even claimed control of Damascus as part of a so-called larger Israeli project.
