Israel poised to defend Druze from threat of Syrian rebels
Army chief says military would cross border to assist in the Golan Heights
JERUSALEM — Israel risks being drawn deeper into the Syria conflict as Islamist militants pose a growing threat to the Druze community on its northern frontier.
The military would act if needed to prevent a massacre of Druze on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, whose southern section Israel controls, Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot told a parliamentary panel Tuesday. Druze citizens of Israel are demanding aid for their co-religionists after the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front killed more than 20 in a recent attack.
“I expect Israel to assist the Druze, just like it helps Jews all over the world,” Ayoub Kara, a Druze lawmaker from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, said. Kara, who is leading a campaign for Israeli involvement, called for “major humanitarian aid” to be sent immediately.
On Wednesday, Syrian rebels launched an offensive against government positions near the Golan Heights, and surrounded the Druze village of Khadr.
The rebels of the Southern Front alliance and the so-called Haramoun Army targeted several areas in the Golan, including the towns and villages of Quneitra, Khan Arnabeh, Baath, Jiba and the base of Brigade 90, the main government force in the region, opposition activist Jamal al-Jolani said.
The Haramoun Army — which includes al-Qaida’s Syrian affiliate and the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham — shelled the area while Southern Front fighters advanced on the ground, al-Jolani said via Skype.
Israel is officially neutral in Syria’s civil war, though reports say it has carried out airstrikes inside the country against Hezbollah, the Shiite militia that is fighting alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad against Nusra and other Sunni groups.
Responding to the Druze plight could open the Jewish state to a stream of refugees. The Israeli military is preparing for the possibility of establishing a safe zone for Syrian Druze on the Golan frontier, Israel Radio said, citing unidentified security officials.