Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the Israel Defense Forces on Saturday to “prepare to defend” the Druze-majority city of Jaramana on the outskirts of Damascus in Syria.
A statement issued by Katz’s office said the Damascus suburb was “currently under attack by the forces of the Syrian regime.”
According to reports from Syria, authorities from the new Syrian government have been clashing with local Druze gunmen during a security campaign in Jaramana. At least one Syrian officer was killed, while another was captured and later released, the reports said.
“We will not allow the extreme Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, it will be struck by us,” Katz said.
“We are committed to our Druze brothers in Israel to do everything to prevent harm to their Druze brothers in Syria, and we will take all the steps required to maintain their safety,” he added.
The Israeli statement followed the outbreak of unrest Friday in the Druze settlement of Jaramana, when a member of the security forces entered and started shooting in the air, leading to an exchange of fire with local gunmen that left him dead.
On Saturday, gunmen came from the Damascus suburb of Mleiha to Jaramana, where they clashed with Druze gunmen. That left one Druze fighter dead and nine other people wounded, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor.
An IDF soldier is seen at a former Syrian Army post at Tel Kwdana, Syria, December 11, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
Israeli leaders have publicly warned Syria’s government not to harm the Druze in southwestern Syria, and have regularly spoken with foreign leaders about the importance of protecting them, along with Syria’s Kurds.
When the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria fell in December, the IDF moved to capture a buffer zone between the countries on the Syrian side of the border.
The IDF described its presence in southern Syria’s buffer zone as a temporary and defensive measure, though Katz has said that troops will remain deployed to nine army posts in the area “indefinitely.”
On Monday, Netanyahu said troops would stay on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon and the buffer zone in the Golan Heights for “an unlimited period of time.”
“We demand full demilitarization of southern Syria from troops of the new Syrian regime in the Quneitra, Daraa and Suweyda provinces,” Netanyahu said, adding that Israel will not accept any threats to Druze in southern Syria.
Last week, it was reported that Israel had begun staff work on a pilot program that would allow Syrian Druze to work in Israeli towns on the Golan Heights.
The program was initiated by Golan Druze, who asked Israeli security officials and the military to assist their Druze brethren over the border, according to the Kan public broadcaster. The plan was being drawn up by Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, who heads the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories and is Druze himself.
Residents in the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights celebrate on December 8, 2024, after Islamist-led rebels declared that they have taken the Syrian capital in a lightning offensive, sending president Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. (Jalaa Marey/ AFP)
The initial stage would see dozens of Syrian Druze working in construction and agriculture in Golan Druze towns, according to the report.
Israel conquered most of the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War, ahead of which several Arab armies had planned an invasion of Israel. Jerusalem annexed the area in 1981, in a move only recognized by the United States. The UN-patrolled buffer zone was intended to keep Israeli and Syrian forces apart.
Forces loyal to Assad’s government had abandoned their positions in southern Syria before rebel groups even reached Damascus, leading Netanyahu to say there was a “vacuum on Israel’s border.”
The United Nations considers Israel’s takeover of the buffer zone a violation of the 1974 disengagement accord. Israel says the accord had fallen apart since one of the sides was no longer in a position to implement it.
Agencies and The Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.
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