Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a strike on an armed group preparing to attack members of the Druze religious minority in the town of Sahnaya some 15 kilometers to the southwest of the Syrian capital, Damascus , Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced in a joint statement on April 30.
The two leaders also said that Israel conveyed a “serious message” to Syria’s leadership: “Israel expects it to act to prevent harm to the Druze.”
“On Memorial Day for Israel’s fallen soldiers,” Netanyahu and Katz said in the statement, “when we honor the great contribution of the Druze community to Israel’s security and the memory of the Druze fallen who risked their lives to defend Israel, we see great importance in fulfilling our commitment to the Druze community in Israel and to protecting their brothers in Syria.”
“Israel will not allow harm to the Druze community in Syria out of a deep commitment to our Druze brothers in Israel,” the leaders added, “who are connected by family and historical ties to their Druze brothers in Syria.”
More than a dozen people were killed in the Druze-majority town of Jaramana, close to Sahnaya, the past day in clashes sparked by an audio recording of a Druze man cursing the Prophet Mohammad, which angered Sunni gunmen.
An agreement between representatives of the Islamists-led interim government and local Druze leaders brought the clashes in Jaramana to an end, but the situation deteriorated in Sahnaya overnight with Sunni gunmen, allegedly including members of government forces, attacking the town.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, citing the health ministry, said that 11 people were killed and an unspecified number wounded “after outlaw groups targeted civilians and security forces” in Sahnaya.
Meanwhile, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that two local fighters were killed in the town during “clashes between gunmen linked to the authorities and local Druze fighters”.
The fighting marked the latest episode of deadly sectarian violence in Syria. Fears have been growing among minorities in the country since Islamist-led rebels overthrew the regime of former president Bashar al-Assad last December, installing their own government and security forces.
Netanyahu publicly warned the Syrian government not to harm the Druze after tensions were reported in Jaramana last March.
While efforts are being made to stop the fighting in Sahnaya, the situation appears to be about to get out of control due to the government unwillingness to stop sectarian incitement against the Druze. This will open the door for a more powerful intervention by Israel.
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any excuse for bombing is permissible for the jews! and each and every one knows they are lying through their teeth. they can’t hejp themselves, the lies are just at the tip of their tongues! just like thievery and the whole sale murder.
im old enough to remember when israel bombed syria to clear the road for these assholes to take power.
israel… protecting whoever, altruistically … sure. i believe that.
i seem to remember that the jews bombed an early stage nuclear reactor construction to prevent assad to have an electricity generating reactor in syria. they did likewise with iraq!