Syrian government's failure to protect minorities leaves door open for Israeli destabilisation
Israel is exploiting the Syrian government's failure to secure minority rights in Syria by presenting itself as a protector of the Druze community, analysts and regional military experts told The National, after a wave of brutal sectarian violence by troops loyal to the new authorities left more than 100 people dead in Druze-majority areas. 'We saw clear sectarian chants like 'We're going to genocide the Druze' in Hama and Homs for example. The government has not through statement or practice been trying to stop this kind of harassment or incitement or attacks,' Joseph Daher, a Syrian academic and analyst told The National. The violence was caused by a voice recording which circulated on social media purportedly showing a Druze cleric insulting the Prophet Mohammed. It was debunked by both Syrian authorities and Druze religious leaders. Leaders of the minority sect, an offshoot of Islam, said the recording was fabricated: blasphemy against the Prophet Mohammed is antithetical to the Druze faith, they said. However, that did very little to calm the situation. Islamist militants, some of whom are affiliated with the current Syrian government, converged on Druze-majority towns of Jaramana and Sahnaya, as well as Suweida province, while Druze gunmen rallied to deter attacks on their towns. Israel's rapid entry into the conflict, through a series of air strikes- including near the Presidential Palace – marked its most significant escalation on Syria since December. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the attacks were aimed at 'protecting the Druze community' and preventing Syrian troop posting south of Damascus. Israel's timing is no accident, analysts say. With Syria's central authority weakened by infighting and sectarian violence, Israel sees a rare chance to reshape post-Assad Syria's borders and political order in its favour. 'Israel wants to see a weak central government or a Syria fragmented along sectarian lines,' according to Riad Kahwaji, head of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis. 'A Druze state, a Kurdish state, and an Alawite state reinforce the legitimacy of a Jewish state.' According to Mr Kahwaji, Israel's primary objective is to carve out a Druze-controlled buffer zone between itself and Damascus. This strategy, he said, is rooted in a broader geopolitical calculation: Israel wants to pre-empt the rise of a strong, Turkish-backed Syrian government that could eventually support hostile armed groups. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's support for the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups has deepened Israeli anxieties, particularly over the possibility that post-conflict Syria could become a base for anti-Israel operations under Turkish patronage. Israel is also eyeing full annexation of the Golan Heights, a region of strategic and symbolic significance. It already controls two-thirds of the territory – unilaterally annexed in 1981 in a move rejected by the international community – and occupied the remaining third following the collapse of Bashar Al Assad's regime in December 2024. 'Israel will try to keep as much of the land it has grabbed and will try to get concessions from the Syrians to accept Israeli sovereignty over the whole of Golan-heights,' Mr Kahwaji said. Syrian authorities have condemned Israel's attacks as a 'flagrant violation of international law' and a 'direct threat to regional stability,' while clarifying that they do not seek conflict with Israel. They also accused 'outlaw groups' of instigating the sectarian attacks and posting troops in Druze-majority towns. But the Syrian government – led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, a group once affiliated with Al Qaeda – has failed to prevent sectarian attacks since its inception, following the ouster of Bashar Al Assad in December of last year. Many activists and residents accused the government of standing by while radical groups, using the fabricated voice recording as a pretext, assaulted Druze towns last week. Mr Daher described the government's behaviour as part of a broader power-recentralisation strategy. 'It's a strategy to retake or consolidate areas that are not in control of the government. The government blames extremists for the violence, and then it says we'll take control to pacify things.' 'The vast majority of Syrian Druze refuse Israeli instrumentalisation of sectarian issues,' he added. 'The problem is that the government's behaviour will be fuel to people who say we need this kind of coalition [with Israel].' Syrian authorities employed a similar tactic in March, when pro-government forces and allies killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite minority under the pretext of quelling an insurgency led by militants loyal to deposed president Bashar Al Assad, who is of the same sect. To date, despite government overtures to investigate violations, there has seen no accountability. 'The government cannot say it's trying to bring security when there has been no accountability from previous massacres,' Mr Daher told The National. 'Israel has been able to exploit the situation exactly because the government has been pursuing – directly and indirectly – sectarian policies.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Dubai Eye
3 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
UN's Guterres urges 'give peace a chance' in Israel-Iran conflict
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday that expansion of the Israel-Iran conflict could "ignite a fire no one can control" and called on both sides and potential parties to the conflict to give peace a chance. Speaking at the United Nations Security Council session, Guterres said there were "moments when the directions taken will shape not just the fate of nations, but potentially our collective future". "This is such a moment," he said. He said expansion of the conflict would "ignite a fire that no one can control" and added: "We must not let that happen." "To the parties to the conflict, the potential parties to the conflict, and to the Security Council as the representative of the international community, I have a simple and clear message: give peace a chance," Guterres said. The Security Council session took place as European foreign ministers met their Iranian counterpart on Friday hoping to test Tehran's readiness to negotiate a new nuclear deal despite there being scant prospect of Israel ceasing its attacks soon. Israel has repeatedly bombed nuclear targets in Iran and Iran has fired missiles and drones at Israel as a week-old air war escalated with no sign yet of an exit strategy from either side. The White House said on Thursday US President Donald Trump would make a decision within the next two weeks whether to get involved on Israel's side. Iran said on Friday it would not discuss the future of its nuclear programme while under attack by Israel. Israel's UN ambassador, Danny Danon, said his country sought genuine efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear capabilities from Friday's meeting between European and Iranian ministers, not just another round of talks "We have seen diplomatic talks for the last few decades, and look at the results," he told reporters. "If it is going to be like another session and debates, that's not going to work." Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, outlined Israeli attacks on nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan and Arak. He said the level of radioactivity outside Iran's Natanz site has remained unchanged and at normal levels, indicating no external radiological impact on the population or the environment there. However, he said that within the facility there was both radiological and chemical contamination. He said the IAEA was not aware of any damage at Iran's Fordow plant at this time. An attack on Iran's Bushehr plant would be most serious, he said: "It is an operating nuclear power plant and hosts thousands of kilogrammes of nuclear material." "I want to make it absolutely and completely clear: In the case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity to the environment," Grossi said. "Similarly, a hit that disabled the only two lines supplying electrical power to the plant could cause its reactor's core to melt." He said any action against the Tehran nuclear research reactor will also have severe consequences, "potentially for large areas of the city of Tehran and its inhabitants." The US ambassador to the United Nations, Dorothy Camille Shea, said the United States "continues to stand with Israel and supports its actions against Iran's nuclear ambitions." "We can no longer ignore that Iran has all that it needs to achieve a nuclear weapon," she said. China and Russia demanded immediate de-escalation. Russia's UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, said Israel's actions risked pulling third countries into the conflict and internationalization of the conflict must be avoided. He said targeting of what he called Iran's peaceful civilian nuclear facilities was "liable to plunge us into a hitherto unseen nuclear catastrophe."
Middle East Eye
5 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Israeli army says it used 15 jets on attacks against western Iran
The Israeli military said on Friday that it has used 15 fighter jets and more than 30 weapons in the latest wave of strikes against Iran It said the attacks targeted 'missile launch sites'. Earlier, it said that it intercepted 15 Iranian drones. Israel's attacks on Iran have killed hundreds of civilians over the past week.
Arabian Post
5 hours ago
- Arabian Post
China-Russia Joint Intervention Delays Trump's Decision To Join War Against Iran
By Nitya Chakraborty The Israel-Iran war which entered its eighth day on Friday June 20 witnessed some major developments in the last 24 hours frustrating Tel Aviv's desperate bid to speedily finish off its task of destroying Iran, especially Teheran. Chinese President Xi Jinping talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin late Thursday on the joint strategy to deal with the war. They came out with the strongest condemnation of Israeli attack so far and asked President Trump not to join Israel in the ongoing war against Iran. China also suggested a four point formula for immediate ceasefire and starting of negotiations to solve Iran's nuclear power issue. At the other end, the Iran foreign minister responded to the offer of the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany to hold talks in Geneva on Friday. Accordingly talks are taking place. Diplomatic moves have finally started. Trump also has postponed his decision to join the war against Iran by two weeks. Earlier, President office sources indicated that Trump would be taking decision on joining war by this Sunday. Why this sudden change in Trump's latest position to give diplomacy a chance for another two weeks when only on Wednesday, he was talking of surrender by the Iranian cleric head Ayatollah Ali Khomeini.? Apart from China Russia's joint stand against Israel and any US participation in war supporting that country, there were other hard military factors that came to light suggesting that Iran might be shattered now, but it has the capacity to retaliate with much high tech missiles which the Iranian forces have not used yet. Apart, Pentagon is worried that Iran will be getting more sophisticated arms from China and Russia if the war continues. The latest analysis of the London based The Guardian shows that Israel's interceptors which are playing the key role in combating the Iranian missiles, are being exhausted and if the war continues, Tel Aviv will fall short of the requisite high powered interceptors to deal with the ballistic missiles which Iranians are having. Sources say that Israel can not win this war on its own unless USA joins. Netanyahu therefore is desperately requesting Trump to take his decision immediately and join war. Both the leaders share the same objective but they differ on strategy. Trump has to take care of the dissent among his MAGA base as also the strong position taken by China and Russia. Trump tried his best to ensure that both President XI and President Putin were kept away from this Israel-Iran war since both were in the process of concluding deal with him. But he is upset now with President XI virtually challenging his Middle East policy openly and putting forward an alternative proposal. President Xi put forward a four-point proposal that ceasefire must be an urgent priority, ensuring civilian safety must be a top priority, dialogue and negotiation are the fundamental solutions, and the international community's peacemaking efforts are indispensable. The formula was on the basis of his discussions with President Putin. . The coordination of positions between the Chinese and Russian leaders not only reflects the depth of strategic cooperation between the two countries, but also sends a clear message to the international community: a call to de-escalate tensions and safeguard regional peace. According to the official Chinese view expressed by Global Times editorial on Friday, as a major power with special influence over Israel, the US has not played a constructive role. Instead, it has continued to fan the flames, even signalling a willingness to 'get directly involved,' which seriously undermines the international community's expectations for a soft landing to the crisis. With the conflict now reaching a point where 'nothing can be ruled out,' the window of opportunity is extremely narrow. As the GT sees it, the 'four-point proposal' is highly targeted and addresses the core of the current issues. For example, it calls on the parties involved in the conflict, especially Israel, to halt military operations as soon as possible, to avoid harming innocent civilians, to firmly support a political solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, and urges the international community, especially major countries that have a special influence on parties to the conflict, to make efforts to cool down the situation. These are all key points where significant changes could occur under the current circumstances. China's position assumes importance as China has the technology to help Iran with high tech radar system and air defence mechanism to combat the Israeli missiles. According to the military experts, Iran has so far launched more than 400 missiles at Israel, but half, about 200, were launched in the initial retaliatory barrages last Friday. Since Monday the size of its missile barrages has reduced to a maximum of 15 to 20 (including 15 on Thursday afternoon), compared with up to 40 during the weekend, according to a count compiled by a US thinktank, the Institute for the Study of War. Iran's ability to manufacture new weapons is also likely to be limited, estimated by the US to be 50 a month before the hostilities broke out. This vulnerability of Iran can be taken care of if China comes with assistance for beleaguered Iranian military. This is the latest talk in defence circles globally which is worrying Trump. Less than four months ago, the noted economist and public intellectual Jeffrey Sachs made a prophetic statement at the European Parliament in February 2025 while assessing the relationship between the Europe and the USA in the context of the Ukraine war. He was suggesting an independent foreign policy for Europe taking into account the moves of the President Donald Trump in his second term. Sachs said in that address 'Netanyahu's greatest dream in life is the war between the United States and Iran. And he's not given up. It's not impossible that a US-Iran War will also come. Yet Europe could stop it – if Europe has its own foreign policy. I'm hoping that Trump will end Netanyahu's grip on American politics. Even if not, the EU can work with the rest of the world to bring peace to the Middle East.' Within four months of this address, on June 13, Israel attacked Iran with its fiercest missiles and damaged the power plants, oil producing equipment and the site for nuclear power. Iran retaliated and now on the eighth day of war on June 20 the position is that the war has spread into more areas with Iran refusing to respond to Trump's call for surrender and the religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khomeini declaring that the US will face irreparable consequences if Trump joins the war. Simultaneously with China and Russia strongly taking a position against Israel, Trump has been compelled to delay his decision. Next few days will show whether Netanyahu can achieve his objective on his own or with Trump stepping back, Israel is forced to agree to negotiate under global pressure. (IPA Service)
