Above photo: Getty.
The warning comes amid rising sectarian tensions and clashes between HTS-led Syrian security forces and Druze self-defense units in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana.
A prominent Druze leader in Lebanon warned on Sunday of an Israeli plot to divide Syria along sectarian lines and create chaos amid clashes between Syrian government security forces and local Druze self-defense units in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana.
“The free Syrians must be cautious of the plots of Israel,” veteran Druze leader Walid Jumblatt said at a news conference Sunday.
“In Syria, there is a plot for sabotage. There is a plot for sabotage in the region and for the Arabs’ national security,” Jumblatt added.
Jumblatt said he plans to visit Syria, following weekend clashes between militants from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led Syrian government and Druze self-defense units in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana.
Jaramana, which is dominated by Syria’s Druze religious minority, is home to some three million Syrians, including Christians and Sunni Muslims displaced from other parts of the country during the 14-year war that began in 2011.
Since HTS ousted President Bashar al-Assad and took power in Damascus in December, they have not been allowed to deploy their forces to Jaramana. The city has instead been protected by local Druze self-defense units who operate checkpoints at its entrances.
🚨🇸🇾 Part of intentional provocation against Druze military groups policing Jaramana
Jihadist regime militants tried entering Jaramana, were asked to disarm at local checkpoint but refused & fired on Jaramana police, resulting clash left this militant dead https://t.co/tb7IA4HElZ
— OstensibleOyster (@Ostensiblay) February 28, 2025
But on Friday, two members of the HTS-led Syrian security forces entered Jaramana and opened fire on Druze gunmen. The Druze returned fire, killing one HTS militant, local sources speaking with The Cradle said.
In another incident in Jaramana on the same day, an HTS militant stabbed a Druze man with a knife. The injured man was taken to the Mujtahid Hospital in Damascus, the sources added.
On Saturday, the HTS-led government sent reinforcements to set up barriers around Jaramana, demanding that the Druze disarm and remove their checkpoints.
Hussam Tahan, Director of Security for HTS in the Damascus countryside governorate, stated, “Our forces have begun to deploy inside the city of Jaramana after those involved in the assassination of the martyr ‘Ahmed al-Khatib,’ who works in the Ministry of Defense, refused to surrender themselves. We will work to arrest them and bring them to justice.”
🚨🇸🇾 Jaramana: Jolani regime terrorists surround Jaramana & prepare to assault the city. Druze military groups are positioned in the city. Reports of terrorists entering Jaramana were false.
Jihadist regime propagandist Hadi Al Abdullah threatens to ‘purify’ Jaramana https://t.co/VQrivWNWWh pic.twitter.com/SM0iIoJ22d
— OstensibleOyster (@Ostensiblay) March 2, 2025
In response, Druze forces from the Suwayda Military Council in southern Syria declared a full mobilization and sent fighting units to defend Jaramana.
Clashes erupted between HTS forces from the neighboring Sunni town of Al-Mleha and Druze gunmen, leading to the death of a Druze fighter, Ahmad Abu al-Dehn, while five more were wounded.
🚨🇸🇾 Damascus: Suwayda Military Council declares full mobilization of its fighting units to defend Jaramana
This after repeated provocations by Jolani regime terrorists escalating to attack on Jaramana & possible siege https://t.co/VQrivWNWWh pic.twitter.com/Lm9mCWNRpF
— OstensibleOyster (@Ostensiblay) March 1, 2025
Following the clashes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz instructed the Israeli army to prepare to protect the Druze of Jaramana. “We will not allow Syria’s extremist terrorist regime to harm Druze. If the regime hits Druze – it will be hurt by us,” Netanyahu said.
On 24 February, Netanyahu demanded that southern Syria be a “demilitarized” zone where HTS forces are not allowed to operate.
Since the downfall of President Assad in December, Israel has expanded its occupation of territory in southern Syria while seeking to divide Syria along sectarian lines to ensure it will remain weak militarily.
Reuters reported on Friday that “Israel seeks to pressure the United States of America to keep Syria weak without a central power.” The news agency cited anonymous Israeli sources as explaining that “Israel seeks to pressure Washington to allow Russia to keep its military bases in Syria to counter growing Turkish influence in the country.”
Mahmoud Alloush, a writer and political researcher specializing in Turkish and regional affairs, claimed that “the Israelis have been betting for a long time on the Kurdish units’ project to dismantle Syria,” and now, “with this bet fading, they have begun to focus on another channel for dismantling, which is the Druze.”
Influential Israeli politician and Finance Minister in Netanyahu’s government previously declared that Israel would one day expand its borders to include Damascus as part of the “Greater Israel” project.