WhatsappDespite the talks on normalization between Israel and Syria, Syria’s Jihadist president Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (aka Abu Mohammad al-Julani) has decided to use the Sunni Bedouins in southern Syria to try to drive out the Druze of the Sweida province. Attacks on the Druze started last night and in response Druze militias fought back and recaptured some of the villages in the majority Druze province. So far have been 30 killed and about 100 wounded in clashes between Druze and Bedouins in southern Syria. Most of the casualties have been Druze.
Druze forces not only captured Sunni Bedouins, but also Syrian regime forces. Israel warned Al-Sharaa not to send his forces into southern Syria. The fact that they were there raises doubts about the Syrian dictator’s intentions in terms of a potential peace deal with Israel.
This was a predictable set up, as the Syrian regime used the Bedouin attacks on the Druze and the Druze response as a pretext to send their forces south to take out the Druze once and for all. Of course, this means going against Israel’s warning about moving Syria regime forces into southern Syria.
Israel’s response has been immediate with Syrian channels reporting that the IDF has struck the Syrian convoy moving south from Damascus as well as several tanks that had crossed into the buffer zone manned by Israel.
Israel has already taken control of the Druze areas closest to the Golan and given the Syrian regime’s animosity to the Druze, the IDF will most likely remain in that area indefinitely. Sweida is further to the East with the Sunni Islamist majority province of Daraa in between. Despite that, Israel has ben able to deliver humanitarian supplies to the Druze of Sweida and brought injured to their field hospital in the buffer zone.
Regime forces continue to stream to Sweida and are said to be pushing from the West into the Druze dominated area with the goal of “disarming the populace.” Druze Sheiks are calling on a general mobilization to fight the Syria regime. While the Druze have been able to hold strong against al-Sharaa’s henchmen, time is running out. Senior Druze Leader Sheikh Abu Hazem Jamal Akwan was killed In Syria, striking a blow to Druze resistance.
Israel will have to make a decision about southern Syria. Jerusalem can either decide to pull back and please Trump or leave the normalization talks behind and instead push further east and take over Sweida, offering it autonomy as an Israeli protectorate. Given that al-Sharaa’s mask has finally fallen off despite Trump’s best intentions, Israel should move forward with the latter and thus finally stabilize southern Syria by protecting the Druze.
Will Israel now enter and wipe out al-Sharaa’s forces? If they are going to do it – it will have to be now.
