Protecting the Druze or Occupying New Territories: What Does 'Israel' Want from Syria?

“Israel” is moving rapidly to impose a new security reality in Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria, amid violent clashes between Druze groups, Bedouin tribes and government military forces, and amid an escalation in the pace of its airstrikes, which have targeted sovereign Syrian military sites in the capital, Damascus.

This comes amid Israel's disregard for any condemnations, and in parallel with growing talk of Tel Aviv's long-term efforts to establish a semi-independent Druze region, or at least empower Druze factions to govern the governorate autonomously, independent of Damascus' authority.

Observers believe that the Israeli intervention in the Suwayda crisis is not a humanitarian attempt to protect a Druze minority with historical ties to the Druze of “Israel”, but rather a deliberate project aimed at redrawing the maps of influence and sovereignty through sectarian protection.

“Israel” insists on implementing its project, despite the new Syrian administration's repeated assertions that it does not want to be an enemy of any party and that it will remain regionally neutral.

Armed Tension

Southern Syria witnessed a dangerous military and security escalation this week, exacerbated by the country's fragile security and political landscape. 

The current crisis, which began in Suwayda on July 13 following tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions, resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries.

This security chaos prompted government forces to intervene to assert their authority over this part of southern Syria, inhabited by a Druze majority and which continues to refuse to be integrated into the new Syria.

On the morning of July 14, government forces were stationed at the southern and western entrances to Suwayda and deployed in the neighborhoods that witnessed the most violent clashes.

However, hours later, sources revealed that Syrian security forces and the army were ambushed by armed Druze groups, resulting in deaths, injuries, and captures.

As violence escalated in Suwayda and its countryside to an unprecedented extent, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra announced a ceasefire on July 15 in coordination with Druze leaders.

He emphasized in an official statement that the state's goal was to protect civilian lives and restore the rule of law.

However, the spiritual leader of Syria's Druze community, Hikmat al-Hijri, accused government military forces of violating the agreement and called for confronting them. 

He reiterated his call for urgent international intervention to protect the people of Suwayda.

Hours after the ceasefire was declared and the Syrian army began deploying inside the city, “Israel” intervened and launched a series of airstrikes targeting government military positions in Suwayda, killing and wounding hundreds of Syrian soldiers.

Direct Threat

In a related context, “Israel” justified its intervention in southern Syria in general, and in Suwayda specifically, based on several security and regional strategic considerations, perhaps the most prominent of which was preventing the deployment of Syrian military forces there.

The Israeli political and military leadership announced that the intervention was intended to protect the Druze community in Suwayda, claiming a deep familial and historical bond between the Druze of “Israel” and the Druze of Syria.

In turn, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on July 15, “We are currently operating in Syria, and we have a commitment to maintaining southwestern Syria as a demilitarized zone on the Israeli border.”

He noted that his government would not allow a recurrence of scenarios threatening the lives of Druze, as had occurred in other parts of Syria.

Approximately 150,000 Druze live in “Israel”, most of whom hold Israeli citizenship and serve in the Israeli military.

On his part, Israeli Army Minister Israel Katz reiterated the same assertion on July 16, stating that southern Syria should be a demilitarized zone.

He affirmed that the Israeli army would continue to strike Syrian armed forces targets under the pretext of protecting the Druze community and preventing what he described as security threats near Israel's border.

Earlier, Katz had threatened to continue targeting Syrian military forces if they did not withdraw from Suwayda, threatening escalation if the message was not understood.

Under the banner of protecting the Druze, “Israel” targeted sovereign sites in and around the capital, Damascus, on the afternoon of July 16, including the General Staff building, the Ministry of Defense building, and the vicinity of the presidential palace.

New Israeli incitement against the new Syrian administration also emerged, with Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir calling for the assassination of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the Syrian president and his team as violent and brutal Islamist extremists.

Deeply Concerns

Despite the Israeli political and military escalation, reports later on July 16 revealed American mediation to calm the situation between Tel Aviv and Damascus.

US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack stated that the U.S. is following the clashes in Suwayda with deep concern, stressing that Washington is working to reach a peaceful and comprehensive solution.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the recent tension between “Israel” and Syria as a misunderstanding, stressing that an agreement had been reached to end the clashes in Suwayda.

Subsequently, Syrian government forces began withdrawing troops from Suwayda.

In turn, President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced that he had decided not to allow any losing battles, adding that he would not allow Syria to be divided.

He accused “Israel” of seeking to escalate the situation in Suwayda and create chaos and strife in the country.

“We have decided to assign some local factions and Druze elders the responsibility of maintaining security in Suwayda,” he added.

He also hinted that effective American, Arab, and Turkish mediation saved the region from an uncertain fate, following a widespread Israeli escalation that significantly complicated the situation.

Following the recent agreement, a statement issued by the Druze Community in Syria called for the opening of corridors between Suwayda and areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Jordan, which observers considered to be calls for formal secession.

Sectarian Protection

There are growing indications that what happened in southern Syria is not simply an Israeli exploitation of the Druze card, but rather part of a broader attempt to reshape the Syrian map through the pretext of minorities.

Israel Hayom recently revealed discussions calling for redrawing the Syrian map and dividing it to serve Israeli security interests, particularly in areas inhabited by diverse sects and ethnicities such as the Druze and Kurds.

“Israel”, as repeated reports, is still betting on the establishment of a Druze entity in southern Syria, which would allow it to manage a border strip that serves its security interests and pave the way for a normalization deal that would not be bound by the traditional framework, but rather imposed as a fait accompli.

These moves cannot be separated from the escalating American pressure on the new Syrian administration to join new regional agreements that expand the scope of the Abraham Accords.

Washington seeks to include Damascus in this process, while Tel Aviv is trying to ensure that this accession is not conditional on its withdrawal from the Golan Heights or a review of its new military presence in southern Syria.

What is happening today is reviving the sectarian protection model, where religious and ethnic minorities are used as tools in the game of regional influence.

On the other hand, clear positions have been issued by Druze leaders, both in the occupied Golan Heights and inside Syria, warning against being drawn into what they describe as a protective illusion, calling for the rejection of any foreign intervention, regardless of its pretext.

Despite all this, Observers believe that the Syrian Druze are caught in the middle of a fierce conflict between a fledgling Syrian government attempting to unify the country and an extremist Israeli government attempting to consolidate its influence.

In turn, political analyst Ibrahim Khatib explained to Al-Estiklal that “the recent Suwayda crisis is a natural echo of the statements of US envoy Thomas Barrack, in which he affirmed that Syria will remain united and that there will be no Druze, Alawite, or Kurdish state.”

“These statements, which close the door to any separatist ambitions, have galvanized some groups that were counting on partition scenarios. Consequently, the attempted armed rebellion in Suwayda was an attempt to create a new reality that re-introduces the idea of sectarian cantons or autonomous regions,” he said.

“Israel undoubtedly plays a pivotal role in this equation. From its security perspective, it views a divided Syria as safer than a unified, centralized Syria,” he noted.

Mr. Khatib concluded that “the new Syria administration is currently entering a more complex phase than before, as Israeli pressures and internal sectarian fissures intersect amid security and economic challenges.”