Druze, Syria and Israel
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Israel’s demand for a demilitarized zone in southern Syria and its promise to protect the Druze minority are putting it in deepening conflict with the new regime in Damascus.
Israel hit Damascus with powerful airstrikes on Wednesday, ostensibly to “protect” Syria’s Druze minority which has borne the brunt of ongoing sectarian clashes in the country.
"If Israel feels that a certain leader...is an evident threat to its national security, it will operate," a former Israeli envoy told Newsweek.
Hundreds of Druze from Israel pushed across the border in solidarity with their Syrian cousins they feared were under attack. Many then met relatives never seen before.
2don MSN
Israel has struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clash with Druze militias.
Syria says it is withdrawing troops from the southern city of Suwayda after days of deadly clashes with the minority Arab Druze community that triggered military action from Israel. CNN’s Becky Anderson speaks to a Syrian Druze and an Israeli Druze to discuss the differing views on the matter.
Clashes that shook southern Syria this week have killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drawn in an array of both local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the coun