Netanyahu tells IDF to protect Druze village amid clashes with 'terrorist' Syrian forces - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff

The Druze village that is currently under attack is the town of Jaramana, which is on the outskirts of Damascus.

 

Druze people from Israel, the Golan Heights and Syria use speakers and microphones to communicate across the Syrian-Golan Heights border, after children and teens were killed at a soccer pitch by a rocket Israel says was fired from Lebanon, near Majdal Shams, a Druze village in the Golan Heights

(photo credit: RICARDO MORAES/REUTERS)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF on Saturday evening to prepare to defend a Druze village in southern Syria after Syrian forces launched a security operation in the area.

Jaramana, a Druze village on the outskirts of Damascus, has been the center of unrest and clashes between Syrian security forces and local Druze brigades.

"We will not allow the terrorist regime of radical Islam in Syria to harm the Druze," they said in a statement. "If the regime harms the Druze, it will be harmed by us."

"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 necessary steps to maintain their security."

On Saturday, a member of Syria's security forces was reportedly killed in clashes in the village between security forces and members of the local 'Jaramana Shield' brigade, Al-Araby reported.

Israeli soldiers seen in the buffer zone which separates the Golan Heights and Syria, February 27, 2025 (credit: JALAA MAREY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES)

Israel accused of 'tempting' Syria's Druze

Local sources reported in February that the IDF had offered the Druze population of southern Syria employment opportunities within Israel. Sources from southern Syria in the al-Quneitra province spoke with the Saudi news network Al-Arabiya, claiming that the IDF made "tempting offers" to the province's residents.

According to the report, sources in the al-Quneitra area claimed that the IDF offered the residents the opportunity to work within Israel during the day and return home in the evening, the same way that the Gazans were allowed to work in Israel before October 7.

"The IDF expressed to those who were offered work that it wanted to issue entry permits that would enable them to enter Israel and work there, just as it did with Palestinians who work in Israel," one southern Syrian resident was quoted as saying. 

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-844244

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