ISRAEL USES DRUZE AS PRETEXT TO BOMB SYRIA

Written by Michael Thervil

SYRIAN DRUZE | PHOTO BY LOUAI BESHARA / AFP

[Israel uses Druze as pretext to bomb Syria] In the early hours of Monday morning, the Syrian clan known as the Bedouins, stated that they would withdraw from the Druze majority city Suwayda . In a previous article entitled: “SYRIA CALLS EMERGENCY U.N. SECURITY SESSION DUE TO ISRAELI STRIKES”, we highlighted the fact that both the Bedouins and the Druze engaged in tit-for-tat fighting scrimmages and kidnappings which has escalated to the point that hundreds of Syrians were killed in the past week alone.

Leading the escalation which led to the killing of 260 people within the borders of Syria was the Israeli defense force. The reason why the Bedouins who are largely supported by Syrian interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa withdrew from Suwayda was due to interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa’s heavy push for the Bedouins to leave the city. A total of 1,500 families that identify as Bedouins  were evacuated to the Daraa by the Syrian government. In a statement made by interim president Ahmad al-Sharra to the Bedouins clan he stated the following:

“We thank the Bedouins fighters for their heroic stances but demand that they fully commit to the ceasefire and comply with state orders.”

He also stated that the Bedouins “cannot replace the role of the state in handling the country’s affairs and restoring security.”

Bedouins fighters and other clans and militants within Syria also took heed to interim president Ahmad al-Sharra’s words and withdrew from the city of Suwayda but stood ready to renege the Druze from outside the city’s borders. For the Bedouins, their main issue was centered around the fact that not only did Israel interject themselves into the sovereign affairs of Syrians, but they illegally executed a series of aerial strikes which led to the deaths of both Syrian civilians and Syrian fighters from their clan and others. In the aftermath of the fighting, the United Nations international organization for mitigation reported that 128,571 people were displaced with roughly 43,000 people being displaced on Saturday.

Compounding the issue, the Bedouins also placed the blame regarding the rise in tensions on the Druze because of their loyalty to Khaled al-Mohammad who they view as the instigator of sedition through the minority Druze population against the state of Syria. While it should be noted that the Americans brokered a ceasefire deal between the Druze and the Bedouins, many are questioning the motive behind such action by the Americans. Coincidentally, the Americans delivered humanitarian aid through the Red Crescent which consisted of food, medicine, water, fuel and various other types of aid to Suwayda and other parts of Syria which were affected by the interstate battle between the Druze and Bedouins.

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While it should be understood that the relocation of the Bedouins to Daraa by the Syrian government is a bittersweet one, it should also be understood that the sole reason for relocation of the Bedouins population is due to the ceasefire being too fragile and mostly being broken because of the high rate of tensions between the Bedouins and the Druze’s. A secondary reason why the Syrian government doesn’t have the military personnel required to combat Israel if they would have left the Bedouins in place instead of relocating them. Bittersweet or not, it should be highlighted that Israel is using the Druze’s as a pretext to conduct bombing campaigns in southern Lebanon. Outside of that, both of these facts combined with the geopolitical instability of Syria were the determining facts as to why interim president Ahmed al-Sharra made the decision to relocate the Bedouin population.

The question we are asking is seeing that the relocation of the Bedouin population is nothing more than a temporary solution for a long-term problem, how long will it be before both the Druze and Israel annex even more land in southern Syria? What process and controls do the Syrian government have in place to prevent such if it occurs? The world is watching.