Israel considering allowing entry of Syrian Druze communities for work
Israel is considering allowing the entry of Druze communities from Syria to work in the occupied Golan Heights, according to Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz.
The plans were part of a "great commitment to our Druze friends in Syria", Katz said on Thursday.
"We are currently considering allowing those nearby to come and work in the Golan Heights on a daily basis and are prepared to assist them through organisations and in various ways. We want to see them protected - and we are working towards this intelligently," he said.
Syria's Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967, is mostly inhabited by members of the Syrian Druze community.
Earlier this week, Israel carried out a series of air strikes on what it said were military bases in Syria, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech on Sunday demanding a "complete demilitarisation" of the country’s south. At least two were killed in the attacks.
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According to Syrian media, the strikes hit the town of Kiswah, south of Damascus, and several parts of the Daraa province.
During his speech, Netanyahu made specific reference to Syria’s Druze community, who live predominantly in the Sweida region.
“We will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria,” he said.
Since Bashar al-Assad's government was toppled in December, Israel has made repeated references to religious and ethnic minorities in Syria, including Kurdish communities and the Druze.
Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the leader of the Druze community in Syria, told Middle East Eye in an exclusive interview in December that he condemned Israel’s recent invasion of Syrian land, which started immediately after the fall of Assad.
"Druze people want to remain in their lands with privacy, but this has become an international matter," Hijri said. "The invasion is something that should be addressed by all countries."
This week, Druze protesters in Sweida held up banners rejecting Israel's encroachment into their region.
"The people of Sweida are part of Syria and will accept nothing but the Syrian state. The Syrian law is their protector and the guarantor of their rights," read one placard.
Robin Yassin-Kassab, an expert on the Syrian conflict, told MEE that Israel was trying to create "a situation that doesn't exist" by splitting up Syria.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria's new leader, this week spoke out against Israel's incursions into Syria, rejecting "the provocative statements of the Israeli prime minister".
The new government said that Israel was violating Syria's sovereignty and called on the international community to pressure it “to stop the aggression”, demanding an “immediate and unconditional withdrawal”.
Although it has issued verbal condemnations, Damascus has not militarily engaged Israel.
Israel has carried out heavy air strikes against Syrian military infrastructure since December, leaving the new administration - already battered from 14 years of civil war - with little capacity to respond militarily.
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