Southern Syria started to dominate the global headlines at the beginning of March after a period of stability during February.
This time round, the focus was on the city of Jaramana, an Aramaic name meaning “mighty men,” which has a population of over 650,000 people, mostly Druze and Christians, who mainly live on trade and agriculture.
As has been the case with other minorities in Syria, the country’s Druze objected to the invitation from Hayaat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), the largest of the militia groups that took power in Syria in December, to merge the armed factions responsible for protecting their people with the Syrian Army.
Instead, they demanded that they be allowed to join as a cohesive force under the Syrian Army’s command without disarming or giving up their weapons. Negotiations have been ongoing to reach an agreement that is satisfactory to all the parties, except the Israeli side, which has been observing the situation and attempting to approach the Druze from another angle.
This week, a limited military confrontation erupted, not between the new government in Damascus and Israeli forces, but between the Druze and forces affiliated with HTS in Jaramana. The incident resulted in casualties on both sides, causing HTS forces to withdraw. Israeli drones began hovering in the sky against a background of threatening statements from the Israeli government.
According to the Israeli newspaper the Times of Israel, Israeli “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz have instructed the IDF [Israeli Defence Force] to ‘prepare to defend’ the Druze-majority city of Jaramana on the outskirts of Damascus in Syria.”
“‘We will not allow the extreme Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, it will be struck by us,’ Katz says. ‘We are committed to our Druze brothers in Israel to do everything to prevent harm to their Druze brothers in Syria, and we will take all the steps required to maintain their safety.’”
In parallel with these Israeli statements, trucks loaded with food aid began arriving near the Ain Al-Tineh and Majdal Shams Crossings into the Occupied Golan Heights west of the town of Hader in the northern Quneitra Province of Syria.
The trucks were headed to Druze villages in the northern Quneitra and Sweida Provinces, and they are waiting for the Israeli Army’s approval to enter Syrian territory. The aid has been provided by Israeli Druze, while the Israeli Army has been tasked with delivering it to the Druze villages in Syria, according to local sources.
This marks the first time that Israeli forces have carried out such humanitarian aid efforts, which were preceded by a survey of the villages’ residents and the offer of job opportunities in the Golan Heights for Druze youth and financial incentives. These efforts highlight the Israeli desire to legitimise its influence in Syria through a so-called “minority protection” programme notably targeted at the Druze.
Some Druze in Syria reject this Israeli approach, and the Men of Dignity Movement in Syria has condemned Netanyahu’s statements claiming that Israel is protecting the Syrian Druze. Spokesperson for the movement Bassam Abu Fakhr said that “we are with Syria, and Damascus has always been our capital.”
Just one day after the statements, the Israeli media reported the death of one person and the injury of at least four others in a stabbing and shooting incident at the central bus station in Haifa in Israel. The background of the incident is still unknown.
“The terrorist [the individual accused of carrying out the attack] is an Israeli Druze from Shefa-Amr. He spent the last few months abroad and returned to Israel last week,” the Israeli media said.
The attitude of the Syrian Transitional Government raises many questions, since there has been no official statement commenting on the situation. It sent a military convoy to the area to reach an agreement and contain the situation, and it has tried to avoid confronting the Israeli forces by any possible means.
Israel’s approach to the Druze in Syria is part of a long term strategy with two primary goals: to expand its influence in Syria and to counter the growing influence of Turkey in the country, which it views with great concern. Israel has also attempted to approach the Russian forces in Syria with a view to persuading them not to leave the country.
“Israel is lobbying the US to keep Russian bases in a ‘weak’ and decentralised Syria, including by letting Russia keep its military bases there to counter Turkey’s growing influence in the country,” Reuters commented, quoting four sources familiar with the efforts.
According to the Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post, “Israel’s big fear is that Turkey comes in and protects this new Syrian Islamist order, which then ends up being a base for Hamas and other terrorists,” quoting Aron Lund, a fellow at the US-based think-tank Century International.
Syria is currently divided, with the Transitional Government mainly supported by Turkey and attempting to unite the country’s minorities to form a united Syrian Army, controversial due to its own leaders’ pasts and the presence of foreign nationalities in the country.
Israel has achieved its tactical goal of building bases in Syria, but its larger strategic goal remains unachieved. The Druze might now be Israel’s Trojan Horse in Syria, used as part of plans to further the disintegration of Syrian society and in an attempt to win over Syrian citizens in the south at the earliest opportunity.
This Israel would prefer to do instead of confronting them in the future if and when the Syrian government fully integrates the south, allowing Turkey to enjoy influence throughout the country.
The story will continue until one side or another gains an upper hand with the Druze.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 6 March, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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