Netanyahu instructs IDF to protect Syrian village under attack

‘We will not permit the radical Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to prepare itself to defend a Druze village in Syria that is under attack.

“We will not permit the radical Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze,” they stated. “If the regime targets the Druze, it will face consequences from us.”

“We are dedicated to our Druze brothers in Israel and will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of their Druze brethren in Syria.”

The Druze village under attack is Jaramana, located on the outskirts of Damascus.

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the demilitarization of southern Syria and the protection of its Druze community, marking his first public call for such measures since the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime in December.

“We demand the complete demilitarization of southern Syria,” Netanyahu said during an officer cadet graduation ceremony in Beer-Sheva. “We will not tolerate any threats to the Druze community in southern Syria.”

Shortly after the regime change, Israeli security officials enlisted senior Druze leaders from Israel to help foster connections with Druze communities in Syria.

In December, Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Bender, the head of the Israeli army’s Intelligence Directorate, met with Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, according to Lt.-Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic spokesperson.

Adraee tweeted, “The head of the Intelligence Service and His Eminence Sheikh Tarif discussed the developments in Syria and their impact on the Druze community.”

This initiative follows Defense Minister Israel Katz’s instructions to the IDF to establish contact with Syrian Druze and other communities.