A visit by approximately 150 Druze sheikhs from the Syrian town of Hader in the Quneitra countryside to the Israeli-occupied territory has ignited widespread controversy. This comes amid escalating tensions between some Druze leaders in Syria and the new government in Damascus.
On Friday, the Druze delegation crossed the border in buses, escorted by Israeli military vehicles, to the town of Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights. They then traveled north to visit the shrine of the Prophet Shuaib in the town of Goles, near Tiberias in the Lower Galilee region, where they were greeted by hundreds. Prominent among the greeters was the spiritual leader of the Druze in Israel, Sheikh Muwaffaq Tarif, who has extensive diplomatic connections and has stated that he focuses his efforts and meetings with Israeli and international officials on protecting the Druze community in the region from the dangers threatening them.
While Tarif maintains that the visit of the Hader sheiks was social and religious in nature, it has gained significant attention. It marks the first visit by Syrian Druze to the Golan Heights since the October War of 1973. Additionally, it occurs at a time when the Suwayda governorate, which has a Druze majority in southern Syria, is experiencing differing opinions regarding the authorities in Damascus. While the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Syria, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, refuses to recognise the administration of President Ahmed al-Shara, another group in Suwayda is inclined towards openness and cooperation with it.
Since the fall of the Assad regime last December, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted a hostile stance toward the new Syrian government. The Israeli air force has launched hundreds of air raids, destroying over 90% of Syria’s military capabilities, including aircraft, missile platforms, radar systems, and medium and heavy weapons depots.
Israeli forces have also advanced into Syrian territories in the north, establishing numerous military points, reaching the summit of Mount Hermon at an altitude of 2,814 meters above sea level. The remaining area is now completely exposed westward, for a distance of approximately 20 kilometers southwest of the capital, Damascus.
Israel has stated that it will not allow any Syrian military presence in southern Syria, threatening to use force to deter any move by Damascus to establish military bases in the area. Israeli officials have also pledged to protect the Druze community in Syria, even though the Druze of Syria have not requested protection from Israel. Some have even protested against what they consider “Israeli interference in Syrian affairs,” asserting that they do not need protection.
Israel’s expansion within Syria stems from security concerns. The Israeli press has published numerous reports and analyses indicating that Israel will not accept a repeat of the events of October 7, referring to the attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on towns in southern Israel in October 2023. It appears that after the departure of the Assad regime, which was committed to the “Disengagement Agreement” of 1974, the Netanyahu government does not want to rely on the pledges of Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara to adhere to the same agreement. Instead, the Netanyahu government is moving towards creating a new situation in southern Syria that guarantees its security interests.
In an effort to foster closer ties with the Druze of Syria, Netanyahu has stated that Israel will invest more than $1 billion in the northern regions under its control where the Druze are prevalent, specifically in the occupied Golan Heights. The government has also announced its intention to open the door for bringing Druze workers from within Syria to those areas.
Israel also sent trucks loaded with aid, including oil, flour, salt, and sugar, to some Druze towns in Mount Hermon, which it primarily controls, last Thursday.
In the past decade, the relationship between the Druze of Hader, whose population does not exceed 20,000, and the Syrian factions fighting the Bashar al-Assad regime was not friendly. The al-Nusra Front, in particular, carried out several attacks between 2015 and 2017 that raised concerns and tensions that spilled over into Israel. Druze figures accused the Netanyahu government at the time of supporting the group, citing Israel’s reception of wounded fighters from the al-Nusra Front and the provision of medical treatment to them. Israel denied any contact or support for the group, claiming that it was receiving wounded Syrians “for humanitarian reasons.”
Responding to accusations made by a Druze member of the Knesset that the Israeli army “does not care about the fate of the Druze on the Syrian side in light of the danger posed to them by extremist organisations,” then-Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman commented that “the Druze in Syria know that Israel is not indifferent to their fate.”
Despite Lieberman’s remarks about caring for the fate of the Druze in Syria, Israel did not intervene during the Syrian war on behalf of any party. In 2018, the countryside of the Suwayda governorate was subjected to attacks by the Islamic State group that killed more than 220 people. Activists from Suwayda say that “Israel is trying to exploit the Druze in Syria to achieve its interests, while in reality it does not care about them or any other Syrians,” as they put it.
When the area of armed conflict began to expand in Syria after 2012, including near Suwayda, Druze in Israel provided Druze in Syria with support that helped them acquire weapons to protect themselves from attacks. The founder of the “Rijal al-Karama” movement, Sheikh Wahid al-Balous, stated in 2014 that they were receiving assistance from “relatives in Palestine,” as he put it. Al-Balous was killed in an explosion in 2015.
The Relationship Between the Druze of Syria and the Occupied Golan Heights
Since the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights nearly 50 years ago, Druze in Syria, including those living in Mount Hermon and Hader, have been unable to visit their relatives in the Israeli-occupied part of the Golan. However, Druze in the Golan were able to make intermittent visits to Syria, organised through the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force on the border with the approval of the Syrian and Israeli authorities. There were also facilities for many Druze in the occupied Golan to enrol in Syrian universities, including choosing their desired specialisation regardless of their high school grades.
Until a decade ago, the vast majority of Druze in the occupied Golan refused to obtain Israeli citizenship. However, the feeling that the Syrian regime was unable to liberate the Golan or recover it through a peace agreement led some to accept the Israeli offer. Currently, 20% of the Druze in the Golan hold Israeli citizenship, while the rest refuse, adhering to their belonging to the Syrian homeland.
Although there are no accurate statistics, the proportion of Syrian Druze is estimated at 3% of the Syrian population, with a total of 800,000. They are distributed across three governorates: Suwayda, where they constitute the vast majority of the population, and they form a minority in some areas of Damascus and its countryside, in addition to Mount al-Summaq in the Idlib governorate, where they live in a number of towns. A Druze minority also lives in the occupied Golan, numbering no more than 13,000, mainly concentrated in the town of Majdal Shams.
A few weeks after the fall of the Assad regime, a video circulated on social media showing a person speaking in a crowd in the town of Hader, saying that they did not feel safe after the arrival of “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” to power, calling for joining those he described as “our people in Israel,” referring to the Druze community. However, on the same day, the dignitaries of the town issued a statement rejecting these demands, affirming their adherence to belonging to Syria.
Al-Hajri’s Stance Towards Damascus
The relationship between the Druze and “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” has not been amicable since its founding in 2012 under the name “Jabhat al-Nusra.” Over the years, the group has launched limited attacks against some Druze areas.
After the fall of the Assad regime, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri adopted a reserved stance towards the new authorities in Damascus, stressing the commitment to establishing a participatory government, adopting a civil constitution, and establishing a national army. He also proposed adopting a decentralised system in the country, and stipulated that these demands be met in order to cooperate with the al-Shara administration.
Al-Hajri also stressed that the factions of the Suwayda governorate will not hand over their weapons to the new authorities until “the state is formed and its pillars are stabilised within the comprehensive Syrian vision,” according to his words.
Since taking control of Damascus, the new Syrian administration has tried to reassure all Syrian components regarding guaranteeing their safety, pledging to achieve civil peace. Many Druze delegations visited the capital, Damascus, and met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara, who affirmed on more than one occasion that “Suwayda is part of the Syrian fabric.” However, these messages did not receive a response from the spiritual leader of the community, Hikmat al-Hajri, who, for his part, insisted on implementing measures that are considered to reflect the desired political change in the country.
In early March, the city of Jaramana, near the capital, Damascus, witnessed limited clashes between Druze factions and Syrian government forces following the death of an element affiliated with the Ministry of Defence. A consensus was quickly reached with the dignitaries and sheikhs of Jaramana, stipulating the deployment of public security forces to maintain security in the city.
Earlier this week, a clip of al-Hajri speaking to a group of people in his home circulated, in which he described the new authority as a “radical government wanted by international justice,” adding that in light of this situation, it is imperative that “the community’s interest be a priority in the next stage.” Al-Hajri also touched on what happened on the Syrian coast of clashes that claimed the lives of hundreds during a campaign by the Syrian authorities against those they describe as “remnants of the former regime.”
Al-Hajri’s statements sparked widespread controversy in Suwayda and Syria in general, leading to a campaign of attack and criticism in some circles. However, in Suwayda, al-Hajri enjoys widespread popularity. While some consider that he is monopolising the Druze decision in Syria and preventing openness to and coordination with the new administration, many see him as a national leader leading the Druze community through a critical stage.
