Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yisrael Katz on Tuesday instructed the IDF to immediately strike Syrian regime forces in the Sweida area of southern Syria.
The order came after three days of ethnic violence between local Druze in Sweida and Bedouins, during which the Druze were attacked by Syrian regime forces.
According to a joint statement published by Netanyahu and Katz, the Syrian forces entered the Druze city of Sweida “in violation of the demilitarization policy, which involves refraining from introducing forces and weapons into the southern Syria area that endanger Israel.”
“Israel is committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria due to the deep brotherly alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel and their familial and historical connection to the Druze in Syria—and we are acting to prevent the Syrian regime from harming them and to ensure the demilitarization of the area adjacent to our border with Syria.”
According to local reports, the Syrian regime forces randomly opened fire on Druze civilians in Sweida, killing and injuring them, and captured civilians and publicly humiliated them, such as forcing them to bark like a dog. They didn’t even spare elderly men, some of whom were captured and forcefully shaved.
An Israeli security source said that the IDF strikes against the Syrian regime forces are very extensive, saying that Israel views this “as a test of the implementation of its policy of demilitarizing southern Syria and its commitment to the Druze.”
The videos below show the Syrian regime forces in Sweida:
Also on Tuesday, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra announced a ceasefire in Sweida. His statement said that an agreement had been reached with the city’s dignitaries and that Syrian forces would only respond to fire from “outlaws.”
The IDF also attacked the Sweida area on Monday, targeting Syrian army tanks that approached Druze villages in the district. Prior to the attack, Israel tried to send a warning to the Syrian regime through foreign elements not to enter Druze villages with armored vehicles. Sources in Syria said that Israeli air force planes did not hit the tanks but fired next to them as a warning.
The clashes between Druze, Bedouins, and Syrian security forces in the Sweida area in recent days have claimed the lives of more than 100 people, including soldiers, and left over 200 people injured. The clashes began after Bedouin militants attacked a Druze youth on his way to Damascus on Friday and robbed him. The attack was part of a wave of abduction of Druze by Bedouin tribesmen in recent times. In response, Druze militants kidnapped several Bedouin tribesmen, causing the clashes to erupt.
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
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One Response
Left out of this article is the main motivation for the violence.
The Bedouin and the Druze were fighting. Bedouin are Sunni Moslem. Druze are non-Moslem. Hence the violent fights.
The present Syrian regime is also Sunni Moslem. Hence, they have come down heavily in favor of the Bedouin and against the Druze.
One must keep in mind when discussing violence, the Moslem factor in order to understand what’s happening. This is a must in order to understand the Pakistan vs India wars as well as much of the violence currently on going involving Yemen.