Members of the Druze community have faced humiliation and massacres at the hands of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's regime, Attorney Raad Shanan, Director-General of the Druze Community Council, said in an interview with 103FM on Wednesday.
“Our vision is for the Druze to be an integral part of the new Syrian state, where they will receive their rights as citizens in their own country, without fear of being harmed by the regime,” he said.
“The Druze in Syria live in several regions, but their main stronghold is in the south, a highly strategic area. The Druze there are Syrian citizens; they were among those who essentially established the state of Syria about a hundred years ago, and are an inseparable part of the Syrian people,” he added.
“But they are loyal, patriotic Druze. Since the fall of the Assad regime, the Druze have sought to be part of the new order, to live as Druze according to their faith, to receive their rights as citizens, whether through representation in parliament or in government. Under Assad’s rule, they were part of the system. Syria is a diverse country, multi-ethnic, with many sects and religions.”
The new regime, which is Sunni, is currently working to impose order in Syria, or essentially, to conquer the country.
“Think about it: a country seeking to conquer a region it is supposed to govern, to conquer and subjugate the Druze unconditionally. They don’t want to grant them rights, they want them to hand over their weapons, while radical groups are still armed,” Shanan explained.
The groups have openly stated their desire to subdue the Druze, meaning disarming them, controlling them, and managing their lives, a reality the Druze won’t accept.
Various terror organizations composed of former ISIS members have entered Druze villages under the regime’s protection, just as Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader al-Julani did to the Alawites on the Syrian coast a few months ago.
The violence should be an early warning for Israel
“This, in my opinion, is a red warning light for Israel,” Shanan claimed.
“According to reports, Israel and the United States issued Julani a warning as part of recent developments, even Arab states like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, within the framework of their security coordination with Israel, stressed the need to find a solution with the Druze. Julani told them ‘yes,’ and then two days later acted differently.”
The day after Israel marked a line that served as a limit for Syria’s heavy weaponry, Julani brought tanks into the area.
“If two days after promising, he already goes back on his word, how can we trust such a person to secure the Israeli border on the Golan side?” Shanan argued.
“The Western-style appearance and suit he wore apparently dazzled some world leaders. But the scenes there are horrifying. They evoke dark periods in history.”
Regarding the Druze from Israel who crossed into Syria in protest, he maintained that it was “unacceptable.”
“People who want to protest and raise their voices, that’s their right. But it must be within the bounds of the law, certainly not by breaching a border and trying to enter another country. They did this out of pain, from a sense of helplessness, and it came from the depths of their hearts. The leaders of the community explicitly called yesterday not to do such things.”