Syria Fears Israeli-Backed Druze May Launch Offensive

The Druze are a non-Muslim people spread over Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. As non-Muslims, Muslim Arabs have, of course, mistreated them. Ever since the 1930s, the Druze in Mandatory Palestine took the side of the Jews against the local Arabs. In the state of Israel, the Druze have been loyal citizens, and since 1956 they have been drafted into the Israeli military, where they have proved to be excellent soldiers, and some have risen high in the ranks.

The Druze in Israel live mostly on the Golan Heights. Those on the Israeli side of the Golan have been loyal citizens of the Jewish state. Those Druze who live on what was the Syrian side of the Golan, that was taken over by Israel in the Six-Day War and annexed to the Jewish state in 1981, were initially wary of seeming to accept Israeli rule, because if they did so, and then the territory ended up being returned to Syria, they could expect a vindictive Syrian state to punish them. But over time, especially after Israel annexed the territory, the formerly Syrian Druze began increasingly to support Israel, as they became convinced Jerusalem would not be returning any part of the Golan to Damascus.

Fast forward to December 2024, when Ahmed al-Sharaa and his rebel forces entered Damascus, toppling Bashar Assad, who fled to Moscow. The local Arabs began attacking the Druze in their heartland, the Sweida governorate, which stretches from just south of Damascus to the Golan. Some of al-Sharaa’s soldiers joined them. The Israelis at once began to send weapons to the Druze, and Netanyahu himself threatened al-Sharaa in a phone call to stop the attacks on the Druze, or face a violent response from Israel. The attacks stopped. Israel has been supplying the Druze with military assistance ever since al-Sharaa took power in December 2024. And now the Syrians are worried that the Druze, with those Israeli-supplied arms, may be planning to take over the Sweida governorate as a separate Druze-ruled enclave. More on the Syrian alarm can be found here: “Syria fears imminent Israeli-backed Druze offensive in Sweida, official tells ‘Post,'” by Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post, October 19, 2026:

The Syrian government fears that Druze armed groups in the southern province of Sweida could launch an offensive against Syrian government forces in the coming days, with Israel encouraging and supporting the operation, a senior Syrian government official told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

The official’s remarks come amid ongoing tensions over the future of Sweida, a predominantly Druze province that has become one of the most sensitive security challenges facing the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Information emerging from Sweida suggests that armed groups may be preparing for an operation against Syrian government forces, the official said, adding that the buildup of armed groups along lines of friction has raised concerns in Damascus about a renewed outbreak of fighting in southern Syria.

The official added that Druze figures in the province have recently stated publicly that an operation to retake Druze villages could be launched soon.

Syrian officials believe that any operation by Druze forces, if carried out, would have Israeli backing and encouragement.

According to the senior official, Israeli aerial reconnaissance over Sweida and surrounding areas has intensified, along with more reconnaissance flights over Damascus and southern Syria. The official also claimed that an Israeli helicopter had landed in Sweida and delivered significant quantities of weapons and ammunition….

Israel has been delivering weapons and ammunition to the Druze since al-Sharaa arrived in Damascus in December 2024. Now it appears to have stepped up those deliveries. What is new are the Israeli aerial reconnaissance flights over Sweida, that no doubt are monitoring the movement of Syrian Army troops in the area and relaying that information to the Druze commanders on the ground.

If Al-Sharaa wants to avoid an attack from Israeli-backed Druze forces, he need only remove his troops from the Druze villages they now occupy.

“Israel wants a weak Sharaa so that it can do whatever it wants in Syria,” the source said.

Of course Israel wants a weak regime in Syria. Why should anyone be surprised? Syria has attacked Israel in all three of the major wars the Jewish state has been forced to fight for its survival, in 1948, 1967, and 1973.

The talks were intended to ease tensions between the two countries following an Israeli strike on the Syrian military airbase of Abu al-Dhur on August 17, shortly after a Turkish delegation visited the site that is only 40 miles from the Turkish border. Israel stated that the preemptive strikes were meant to block a planned Turkish military deployment — which intelligence indicated would include troops, radar, and air defense systems — arguing that allowing a Turkish military presence there breached the security status quo. After the attack, the Turks shelved their plan.

Israel understands that Erdogan is an obsessive antisemite who is determined to unleash a war on the Jewish state. He has already called for the creation of a pan-Islamic force that would be able to defeat Israel, leaving no doubt that he thought Turkey should lead that force. He has established several military outposts in Syria, mainly to keep tabs on the Kurds in the country, but that could also be used for an attack on Israel.

If the Druze can carve out a state in southern Syria, with Israeli military backing, and possibly with an army that would include Israeli Druze who are veterans of the IDF, that would be a constant threat to al-Sharaa’s regime. He would not dare to attack that Druze enclave, for fear of what the IDF would do in response. The current Syrian alarm about the Druze is understandable. But there is nothing al-Sharaa can realistically do to prevent the Druze and the Israelis from creating a Greater Sweida that would be a steadfast ally of the Jewish state.