On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a targeted airstrike against what officials described as an extremist group in Syria’s Damascus Governorate. The group was reportedly plotting to continue sectarian violence against the Druze community in the southern city of As-Suweida, roughly 50 miles from the capital.
In a joint statement, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz emphasized Israel’s “deep commitment to our Druze brothers in Israel” and vowed to defend their relatives in Syria. The statement underscored historical and familial bonds between the Druze populations on both sides of the border, calling the strike part of Israel’s ongoing commitment to protect innocent lives.
“Israel will not allow harm to come to the Druze community in Syria,” the statement read, adding that the Israeli government expects Syria’s new leadership to take steps to halt violence targeting the Druze.
Netanyahu and Katz praised the “enormous contribution of the Druze community to Israel’s security,” including those Druze soldiers who “gave their lives to defend the State of Israel.”
The timing of the strike — on Israel’s official day of remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism — added symbolic weight to the announcement.
In a show of unity earlier in the day, Israeli Druze held demonstrations against ongoing Islamist violence targeting their Syrian counterparts.
In recent years, Israeli leaders have reaffirmed a national commitment to the Druze, who serve at high rates in the IDF and occupy prominent roles in Israeli society.
“The Druze Arabs live in the mountainous region of the Levant, in territory that overlaps with Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. They have their own religion, which is roughly one thousand years old, and which is separate from Islam, though it includes elements of the three monotheistic faiths,” Breitbart News noted late last year.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
Breitbart News
Read the full article .
