Israel had warned the Syrian government to protect the Druze – now the army announced that they had attacked goals near the presidential palace. There have been battles between Sunni militias and Drusen in Syria for days.
According to its own statements, Israel has attacked goals near the Syrian Presidential Palace in Damascus. Fighter planes “had hit the area around the palace,” said the Israeli army on the X and Telegram platforms.
“This is a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not allow troops to be sent south of Damascus or that the Drusian community is threatened”, quoted Israeli newspapers from a joint statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Israel Katz. Previously, Katz had said that Israel would react with hardness if the new Syrian government of temporary president Ahmed al-Sharaa does not protect the Drusian minority in Syria.
Israel's army had already attacked goals in Syria several times on Wednesday. According to the military information, an “extremist group” was attacked near Damascus, which allegedly planned an attack on Drusen.
More than 100 dead within a few days
Most recently, there were violent clashes between Sunni militias and drusian armed in Syria. The trigger was a sound recording in which the prophet Mohammed was said to have been insulted. It was initially attributed to a Druze. However, the Ministry of the Interior said that the accused person is not related to the admission.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, based in Great Britain, the fighting has been killed in the fights since the beginning of the week.
The religious leader of the Syrian Drusen spoke on Thursday of a “nurse campaign”. This can be “not justified by anything,” said Scheich Hikamt al-Hidschri. He called “international forces” to intervene in order to “maintain peace and prevent the progress of these crimes”.
US government condemned violence
The US government also sharply condemned violence against the Drusen. “The recent violence and agitation rhetoric, which is directed against members of the Drusian community in Syria, is reprehensible and unacceptable,” said the spokeswoman for the US State Department, Tammy Bruce. The transitional authorities in Damascus would have to “set the fights”. In addition, they would have to hold the perpetrators into account and “ensure the security of all Syrians”.
The United States also confirmed a meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Schaibani. Bruce said US representatives had met with the Syrian delegation in New York on Tuesday. Accordingly, the transitional government in Syria was admonished by the US side to exercise a policy “which strengthens stability”.
Any future normalization of the relationships or abolition of sanctions will “depend on the acts of the transitional government” and a “positive reaction to the specifically communicated confidence -building measures”, said Bruce.
Drusen apparently want to give heavy weapons
However, an end to the fights could arise: As reported by the dpa news agency, citing the religious minority circles, the Drusen is said to have agreed to hand over its heavy weapons. In return, a new military unit from Drusen under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense is to be built up in the province of Suwaida, it is said. The unit should ensure security in the region. A safety agreement between the government and local militias had also been concluded in Jharamana near the capital Damascus.
The new Syrian leadership has repeatedly assured that he wants to protect the minorities in the country. Transitional President Al-Sharaa has been moderated by his Islamist HTS militia since the fall of the long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. In March there were massacres in civilians, mainly by members of the religious minority of the Alawites.
