The massive raids carried out by Israeli air forces against Syrian army convoys of armored vehicles and heavy weaponry near and within Sweida, as well as strikes against the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff headquarters, and other military positions in Damascus, have slowed the advance of troops sent by the Damascus regime.

The direct intervention of the Israeli air force enabled Druze armed groups to regain control of part of Sweida, capital of the province bearing the same name, located at the border with Jordan, near the Golan Heights.

The emergence of the Israeli factor in this intra-Syrian conflict is not a surprise. In the weeks following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024, Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders clearly expressed their intention to present themselves as protectors of this community of one million people, spread across Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and a small minority in Jordan.

In Lebanon, Centuries of Druze Emir Dynasties

The Druze, considered heretics by radical Islamist groups, emerged from Ismaili Shiism in the early 10^th century under the impetus of the Fatimid Egyptian Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (996–1021). Wadi el-Taym, in southeastern Lebanon, is the birthplace of the Druze, who centuries later would produce dynasties of emirs governing, in the name of the Ottoman sultans, vast territories that extended, during the era of Fakhr-al-Din II (1572–1635), as far as northwestern Syria, the Homs region, and part of Palestine.

The Druze migration to Sweida, the Golan, and Galilee occurred in the 16^th century. In the years following the creation of Israel in 1948, the Druze agreed to integrate into the institutions of the new state. They are the only Arab community holding significant positions within Israeli elite army units and border guards. Numbering 153,000, they are mainly based in Galilee.

Their spiritual leader, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, who also plays a major political role, is a close ally of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Mowafaq Tarif: "The Battle of Sweida is Existential"

From the onset of the fighting in Sweida, Sheikh Tarif described it as an "existential battle for the Druze community." Sources close to the dignitary, cited by Haaretz, indicate that he called for "military intervention" against Syrian troops deployed in the southern province of Syria.

The Druze community's support for Benjamin Netanyahu's government and its broader loyalty to the State of Israel are sufficient reasons to explain the Israeli Prime Minister’s decision to comply with Mowafaq Tarif's request.

However, this is not the only explanation. Whether in Sweida, the Golan, or Lebanon, the Druze inhabit geographical areas near Israel’s northern borders. By strengthening ties with this community, Israel hopes to rely on a potential ally to secure its northern flank. This is one of the pillars of the "reshaping of the Middle East" plan that Benjamin Netanyahu has been advocating since the significant shifts in power dynamics over the past two years. The normalization of relations with Gulf petro-monarchies is another pillar of this plan.

With the aim of bringing the Druze of Syria and Lebanon closer, Israel encouraged Mowafaq Tarif to establish connections with religious dignitaries and political figures of this community in both countries.

Israel Strengthens Ties with Druze in Syria and Lebanon

Last March, Sheikh Tarif invited around sixty spiritual leaders from Sweida to visit the "Sanctuary of Prophet Shuaib," revered by the Druze, near Tiberias in Lower Galilee. This pilgrimage was organized by one of the three supreme spiritual leaders (Sheikhs al-Aql) of the Druze of Sweida, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, in coordination with Mowafaq Tarif.

In Lebanon, Wiam Wahhab, a former minister once close to the former Syrian regime and Hezbollah, has for months been defending Sheikh Tarif. This political shift has surprised many observers in Beirut. The option of Israeli protection proposed to the Druze of Syria — and by extension of Lebanon — is far from unanimous within the community.

In Syria, two of the three main religious figures, Sheikhs al-Aql Youssef Jarbouh and Hammoud al-Hannawi, reject any separatist temptation and advocate for a negotiated solution "within the institutions of the Syrian state." However, they are losing popular support due to abuses committed by government troops and suspicions surrounding the new Syrian regime's true intentions toward minorities. These suspicions are fueled by the suffering inflicted on the small Druze community of Idlib (16,000 people), which was nearly forced to renounce its beliefs.

Lebanon-Syria: The Same Rift Among the Druze

The third Sheikh al-Aql, Hikmat al-Hijri, is gaining ground. A hardliner towards the Damascus regime, which he labeled "radical" last March, he advocates for broad autonomy and calls for foreign intervention to "protect the Druze from the genocide they are facing."

Sheikh al-Hijri has rejected any ceasefire agreement and urged the community's youth to take up arms to repel government troops from Sweida. This same rift exists among Lebanon's Druze. The historical leader of the community, Walid Jumblatt, firmly supports a negotiated solution with Damascus and rejects any form of separatism or partition of Syria.

Mr. Jumblatt, the first Lebanese political figure to visit Damascus to meet the transitional president Ahmed al-Charaa on December 22, repeatedly warns against "the Israeli temptation" and denounces what he calls "the Israeli trap." Lebanon's Sheikh al-Aql, Sami Abou el-Mona, shares Walid Jumblatt's views. However, their conciliatory positions are generating growing discontent among an increasingly significant segment of the population and the religious institution.

On Wednesday, hundreds of young Druze blocked the Beirut-Damascus road in the mountainous stronghold of the community to protest against "the massacres perpetrated in Sweida" against their fellow Druze.

If the separatist dynamic, fuelled by Israeli interventionism, prevails among the Druze of Syria, its contagion to Lebanon will be hard to stop. At the same time, if the Sweida rebellion is drowned in blood, resentment will spread among Druze throughout the region.

Both scenarios are dangerous and intolerable for the Cedar country.

See, Syrie-Liban : les Druzes face à un tournant historique

Photo. Demonstration by members of the Druze community at the border with Israel, on the Golan Heights, on July 16, 2025. © Leo Correa / AP