Druze, Syria and Israel
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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the situation as "complicated" but said it looked like a "misunderstanding".
More than 1,000 Israeli Druze crossed the Syrian border to defend their community, and many want Israel to launch a military operation. Several Israeli ministers have issued inflammatory statements against the new Syrian regime led by former jihadist Ahmad al-Sharaa.
"Silence and standing idly by are no longer an option,” Druze leader Sheikh Mowafak Tarif wrote. Israel's Druze spiritual leadership called on its community to prepare to assist their Syrian counterparts “by all means necessary,
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Damascus headquarters served as a command center for deploying regime forces to Suwayda, a southern Syrian region gripped by days of deadly clashes between government troops, Druze militias, and Bedouin groups.
An Israeli military official said, "we are reinforcing forces in the Golan Heights and along the border, ready for a multitude of scenarios."
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Israeli officials react to the ongoing violence in Syria's Sweida between regime forces and the local Druze community. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border amid ongoing clashes in Sweida in southern Syria on Wednesday afternoon.
Attorney Marc Zell: "We are asking President Trump to denounce the attacks on the Druze and other minorities - these attacks violate President Trump's Executive Order lifting sanctions against Syria"