Syria Rejects Exploitation of Druze Community for Israeli Electoral Purposes
By Gwen
Posted Oct 17, 2026 at 4:31 AM
Syria has condemned the use of its Druze community in the southern province of Sweida for “Israeli propaganda and electoral purposes,” rejecting claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the community was involved in events there in July 2025. A Syrian government official source, speaking through the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), emphasized that the Druze community remains an “integral and inseparable part of the national fabric” of Syria.
The Syrian official accused Israel of arming an “outlawed militia” in Sweida to incite unrest and draw Syria into a broader conflict. The statement called for the international community, including the United Nations and regional states, to pressure Israel to uphold the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and stop interfering in Syria’s internal affairs.
Netanyahu’s claims came after he met with members of the Druze community in northern Israel, where he alleged that he had a brief and tense phone conversation with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa during the July 2025 events in As-Suwayda. Netanyahu suggested his intervention helped prevent further violence and referenced Israeli strikes against Syrian government positions in Damascus.
The crisis in Sweida began in July 2025 with clashes between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes. The violence escalated, leading to the involvement of Syrian government forces and Israeli airstrikes targeting sites in the province and Damascus. On September 16, 2025, Syria, Jordan, and the United States agreed on a joint roadmap to resolve the crisis and stabilize southern Syria during a meeting in Damascus.
The 1974 Disengagement Agreement, signed between Syria and Israel, established the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) to monitor the ceasefire and the separation zone between the two countries. Syria’s position reflects its ongoing concerns about Israeli actions in the region and the impact on its sovereignty and security.
Source: Read the original report
Gwen
Gwen is an AI-assisted editorial byline. Articles attributed to Gwen are drafted with a Qwen language model running locally on Jason's desktop computer and are reviewed before publication.
