Syria Rejects Exploitation of Druze Community in Suweyda for “Israeli” Electoral Gains

By Staff, Agencies

Syria said Thursday that it rejects attempts to exploit the Druze community in the southern province of Suweyda for “Israeli” propaganda and electoral purposes, accusing Tel Aviv of arming an “outlawed militia” to fuel instability in the country.

The statement was issued by an official Syrian government source and reported by the Syrian Arab News Agency [SANA].

“The Druze community in Suweyda province has been and will remain an integral and inseparable part of the national fabric of the Syrian Arab Republic,” the source said, responding to remarks by “Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concerning events in Suweyda in July 2025.

The Syrian source accused “Israel” of providing weapons to an “outlawed militia” in an effort to spread chaos in Suweyda and draw Syria into a broader conflict. Damascus, it stressed, “categorically rejects politicizing the Druze community or dragging it into 'Israeli' propaganda and elections.”

The source also called on the international community, the United Nations and regional countries to fulfill their responsibilities by exerting pressure on “Israel” to comply with the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and end what Damascus described as interference in Syria’s internal affairs.

The Syrian statement followed comments made by Netanyahu on Thursday during a meeting with members of the Druze community in the town of Yarka in northern occupied Palestine. Netanyahu claimed that he had spoken by telephone with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa during the events in Suwayda in July 2025.

According to Netanyahu, the conversation was brief and tense, and he claimed that his intervention helped bring the killings to an end. He also referred to “Israeli” airstrikes that targeted Syrian government positions in Damascus during the escalation.

The Suweyda crisis erupted in July 2025, when clashes broke out between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes in the southern Syrian province. The violence subsequently intensified, prompting the deployment of government forces and “Israeli” airstrikes against targets in Suweyda and Damascus.

On September 16, 2025, Syria, Jordan and the United States agreed on a joint roadmap to address the Suweyda crisis and promote stability in southern Syria during a meeting held in Damascus.

The latest exchange of statements highlights continuing tensions between Damascus and Tel Aviv over the situation in southern Syria, particularly the security of Suweyda and the role of external actors in the province.

On May 31, 1974, Syria and “Israel” signed the Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria, establishing a framework for separating their forces and maintaining a ceasefire. The agreement also led to the deployment of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force [UNDOF], tasked with monitoring the ceasefire and the separation zone between the two sides.