Israel continued to carry out strikes against Syria throughout the weekend, launching a number of additional airstrike centered on the idea they are “protecting” the Druze minority in Syria after last week’s sectarian violence left over 100 people dead.
The violence began Tuesday after an audio posting of someone insulting the Prophet Muhammad went viral. The audio was claimed to be a Druze person in Suwayda Governorate, though that was never confirmed and there were suspicions this audio post was simply meant to inflame sectarian violence.
By Wednesday Israel was carrying out strikes on Syria and threatening escalating attacks nationwide. On Friday this included some 20 strikes, including against the presidential palace in Damascus. Saturday another 15 strikes were reported.
Though the narrative is Israel standing up for their “Druze brothers” in Syria, the Friday strikes included an Israeli drone strike against a Suwayda farm, killing four Druze civilians. Two more civilians were reported killed in the Saturday strikes, along with eight people wounded.
On Saturday it was also reported that the Druze leaders had made a deal with the ruling Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which involved allowing them to increase the number of local forces defending the Suwayda area.
Though Israeli narratives often talk about the Druze establishing an autonomous republic in the south of Syria, the Druze leaders have repeatedly rejected that idea, insisting they view themselves as an inseparable part of Syria.
Some are viewing Israeli officials as trying to take advantage of the situation to justify an invasion of southwestern Syria that was already ongoing before the newest violence broke out. Other Israeli media are playing into the idea that the Druze are seeking Israeli rescue, advancing unconfirmed reports that Druze civilians are fleeing from metro Damascus into the southwest areas already occupied by Israel.
Fleeing into Israeli-occupied Quneitra seems an unlikely plan for many Druze, as Israel has already reneged on their offer to let Syrian Druze enter Israel with work permits. There is little to gain from leaving their homes in Jaramana, especially since the violence appears to have calmed down there.
Whether the HTS will allow the Druze to shore up the defenses in Suwayda Governorate themselves, which appears to be what this deal envisions, remains to be seen. The HTS has repeatedly talked about wanting centralized control over all the country and not to allow any regional autonomy, though they have recently made similar arrangements with the Kurds in the northeast, integrating forces instead of just occupying the rest of the nation. It appears that controlling the whole country from Damascus has proven a lot more difficult than the HTS initially believed.
