Hikmat al-Hijri’s Betrayal: Damascus Branded ‘Takfiri, Israeli Occupation Hailed as Liberator

In a blatant act of treachery, the spiritual head of the Druze community in Syria’s Sweida province, Hikmat al-Hijri, called on the Israeli entity to confront the Syrian state after government forces entered the area to restore order.

On July 13, 2025, following the deployment of Syrian security forces to the predominantly Druze province in southern Syria — a move aimed at re-establishing stability after clashes between Druze and Bedouin groups — al-Hijri appealed for American and Israeli intervention, turning his back on the Syrian state.

The call, unprecedented in its audacity, has sent shockwaves through a country still reeling from years of war and division.

Turn to ‘Israel’

In an extraordinary plea, the Druze religious council in Sweida, led by Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, called on U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II — along with “all those with a voice and influence in this world” — to “save Sweida.”

The appeal came just a day after both Jordan and Saudi Arabia issued statements expressing their support for the Syrian government’s efforts to restore security and stability in the restive southern province. 

The timing of the plea has only deepened the controversy, highlighting a widening rift between the local Druze leadership and regional consensus.

In a statement issued on July 16, the Druze spiritual council claimed that the people of Sweida were being “exterminated and murdered in cold blood, with no distinction made between young or old, woman or child, doctor or elder.”

Just hours after al-Hijri’s declaration—and amid ongoing Syrian army operations to restore security in Sweida—Israeli forces launched a major assault on Syria. The strikes targeted more than 160 sites across four provinces: Sweida and the neighboring Daraa, as well as Rif Dimashq and Damascus itself, where the military headquarters and the vicinity of the presidential palace in the capital were bombed.

Meanwhile, a Syrian government delegation led by Brigadier General Ahmed al-Dalati, commander of internal security forces in Sweida province, was holding talks with local religious and military figures to establish a framework for governing and securing the city.

The meetings culminated on July 16, 2025, with Druze leader Sheikh Yusuf Jarbou’ announcing an agreement with the Syrian government. 

The deal called for a cessation of military operations, the removal of unauthorized weapons, and the return of the army to its barracks.

However, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri rejected the ceasefire accord endorsed by Jarbou’, declaring that “the fighting will continue until the entirety of Sweida is liberated.”

Responding to al-Hijri’s stance in an interview with Sky News Arabia, Sheikh Yusuf Jarbou’ said, “We respect his rejection of the agreement, but Sheikh al-Hijri does not have the right to silence our voice.”

“Our focus is on restoring state authority in Sweida. No one person can monopolize spiritual leadership in Sweida,”  Jarbou’ added.

In line with the agreement reached with Sheikh Jarbou’, Syrian Ministry of Defense forces completed their withdrawal from Sweida city and its outskirts in the early hours of July 17, 2025.

In the early hours of July 17, 2025, Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, announced his decision to entrust local factions and Druze religious leaders with the responsibility of maintaining security in Sweida.

Al-Sharaa explained that his government had deployed forces to the province “to halt fighting that erupted between armed groups from Sweida and surrounding areas, stemming from longstanding disputes.”

He further accused the Israeli entity, which he said has long targeted Syria’s stability and sought to sow discord among its people since the fall of the former regime, of once again attempting to turn Syrian soil into an endless arena of chaos aimed at fracturing national unity.

“The Israeli entity resorted to widespread attacks on civilian and government facilities to undermine these efforts, significantly complicating the situation,” al-Sharaa added.

In the same address, he threatened to enter into “an open war with the Israeli entity,” as he put it.

He also praised the “effective intervention of American, Arab, and Turkish mediation,” crediting it with having “saved the region from an unknown fate,” and reaffirmed that “Syria will never be a place for division or fragmentation.”

The armed Druze factions loyal to Hikmat al-Hijri’s leadership confronted Syrian security forces, bolstered by Israeli strikes targeting Syrian military vehicles and army tanks in Sweida province, during the clashes. 

Observers see this as a clear indication of direct Israeli support for al-Hijri’s refusal to reintegrate with the Syrian state since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024.

Notably, the “Druze Spiritual Council of Sweida,” led by al-Hijri, branded the Damascus leadership in a statement on July 16, 2025, as “a ruling, unjust, tyrannical clique and outlawed gangs.”

Israeli Proxy

Jabal al-Druze — also known as Jabal al-Arab or al-Hauran — is a mountainous region in southern Syria, stretching across Sweida province. Its peaks rise to more than 1,809 meters, with dozens of towns scattered along its slopes.

“Israel” has long used the pretext of “protecting the Druze” to justify repeated violations of Syrian sovereignty, including its stated aim of rendering southern Syria a “demilitarized zone.”

However, most Druze community leaders in Syria have strongly condemned any foreign intervention in a joint statement, reaffirming their commitment to a unified Syria and rejecting any form of division or secession.

Hikmat al-Hijri was born on June 9, 1965, in Venezuela, where his father, Sheikh Salman, was working at the time. 

The family later returned to Syria, and Hikmat studied law at Damascus University between 1985 and 1990.

In 1993, Sheikh Hikmat moved back to Venezuela to work before returning again in 1998 to Sweida, settling in his hometown of Qanawat in the northeast of the province.

He assumed the spiritual leadership of the Druze community, succeeding his brother Sheikh Ahmed, who died in a car accident in 2012. 

The position has been passed down within the al-Hijri family for decades; Ahmad, born in 1953, had himself taken up the mantle in 1989 after the death of their father.

Since assuming his position, Hikmat al-Hijri has publicly expressed support for the ousted Bashar al-Assad regime through numerous statements and speeches — a stance that has severely eroded the popularity once held by him and his predecessors from the al-Hijri family in the province.

Currently, Sweida is home to the three Druze spiritual leaders—Hamoud al-Hanawi, Yusuf Jarbou’, and Hikmat al-Hijri—though al-Hijri remains at odds with the other two over leadership.

Following al-Assad’s fall, Hikmat al-Hijri refused to cooperate with the new Syrian state, openly criticizing it on multiple occasions and rejecting the entry of Syrian security forces into Sweida.

Within this context, Syrian writer and political analyst Ahmad al-Hawas told Al-Estiklal that “the southern region of Syria represents a vulnerable flank for the Israeli entity, especially given the rulers who came to power through a popular revolution.”

“Israel’s strategy is either to control Syria by dividing it into zones of communal influence, each governed by minority groups, or, failing that, to establish a buffer zone in southern Syria. This is why collaboration was forged with the collaborator Hikmat al-Hijri and his military council.”

“Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, advanced and heavy weaponry has been deliberately destroyed to prevent it falling into the hands of the rebels and posing a threat to Israel,” al-Hawas added.

“In the absence of authority from the new Syrian state, Sweida became a trap set for the government, with skirmishes instigated by al-Hijri against Bedouin groups designed to provoke Damascus into asserting control and suppressing these militias. Yet, we find advanced weaponry supplied to these groups by Western states, alongside Israeli strikes targeting sovereign military sites in Damascus.”

“The objective is not the fall of the Syrian revolution, but the fragmentation of the Syrian state through the re-emergence not of a sectarian regime, but of a system of minorities supporting each other in ruling Syria. This underscores the backing of al-Hijri and the bombing of sovereign sites like the Ministry of Defense and the presidential palace.”

According to al-Hawas, “the Israeli entity has used the pretext of protecting the Druze. But the question remains: what connection does Israel have to the Druze? They are genuine Syrian citizens, while Israel is an occupier of Syrian land.”

“The bullying tactics employed by Israel in Syria are a direct consequence of the absence of international law, in a world order dominated by a handful of ruthless powers.”

“All the Israeli strikes in Syria reflect the prevailing American mood, and we do not believe the statements of the U.S. envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrett, when he speaks of Syria’s unity and territorial integrity,” al-Hawas concluded.

Al-Hijri’s Alleged Betrayal

Notably, after local Druze factions took control of Sweida province under the agreement with the spiritual leaders, al-Hijri returned on July 17 to launch a fierce attack on the Syrian government, branding it “takfiri” (non-believer) — in his first public appearance since the withdrawal of Syrian Ministry of Defence forces from the province.

Many Syrians view al-Hijri as a provocateur who has ignited discord within the country, branding him a “traitor” — especially after he called on “Israel” to intervene, a move that prompted Israeli strikes against Syrian security forces and their advanced vehicles near Sweida.

As a result, Sweida province now stands isolated, cut off from the authority of the Syrian state and its security and military institutions, following recent events that left dozens dead. 

This isolation comes amid al-Hijri’s reliance on the Israeli occupier — an enemy of the Syrian people and occupier of part of their land.

Many Syrians believe that Hikmat al-Hijri, who wields significant influence over the Druze community in Sweida, missed a crucial opportunity to engage constructively with the new Syrian state and to prioritize dialogue in resolving disputes with Damascus concerning Syria’s future and governance.

In this context, Ahmad al-Qurbi, a researcher at the Syrian Dialogue Center, told Al-Estiklal that “the only state with an interest in promoting the fragmentation of Syria in the region is Israel. This creates a convergence of interests between Hikmat al-Hijri and Israel, aimed at undermining the project of a united Syrian state.”

“What Hikmat al-Hijri has done is not mere rebellion; he has sought external assistance to conspire against his own people, which constitutes treason under legal norms—especially given that Israel occupies the Syrian Golan and is therefore an enemy of the Syrian people. This confirms that al-Hijri’s actions amount to betrayal,” al-Qurbi added.

Meanwhile, on July 17, 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in a televised statement claiming that the ceasefire in Sweida was snatched by force, not through demands or pleas.

“We have set forth a clear policy: demilitarization of the region to the south of Damascus, from the Golan Heights and to the Druze Mountain area. That's rule number one. 

“Rule number two is protecting the brothers of our brothers, the Druze at the Druze Mountain,” Netanyahu added.

“That will also be our policy going forward — we will not allow Syrian army forces to enter the region south of Damascus, and will not allow any harm to the Druze at the Druze Mountain.”

In a televised address on July 17, 2025, following his weekly government meeting at the presidential complex in Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed that Ankara would never consent to the division of Syria.

According to Erdogan, “Israel” has escalated its bullying operations, extending them to our neighbor Syria over the past two days under the pretext of protecting the Druze.