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IDF denies ties between Israel, Jabhat al-Nusra

Following growing concerns in the Israeli Druze community over the fate of their Syrian brothers, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz tells Al-Monitor that Israel does not collaborate with Jabhat al-Nusra.
Israeli soldiers walk near the frontier with Syria near Majdel Shams in the Golan Heights April 27, 2015. An Israeli air strike killed four militants on Sunday as they placed an explosive on a fence near Israel's frontier with Syria in the annexed Golan Heights, an Israeli military source said. REUTERS/Baz Ratner  - RTX1AIJ3

A military ambulance was speeding along the winding road leading from the Mount Hermon base of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) toward the Golan Heights. It was the evening of June 22, and the ambulance was heading toward the field hospital that the army had set up to treat the flow of wounded from Syria. Along with the Hermon Brigade’s doctor and a medic, the ambulance contained two wounded Syrians in critical condition. The passengers in the ambulance never dreamed of what was waiting for them just around the next bend.

As it approached the large Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, the ambulance encountered a mob of locals, waiting along the side of the road. A clash erupted, and some 150 Druze started throwing rocks at the ambulance. It tried to flee the scene and make its way to the Israeli village of Neve Ativ, but at some point the road was blocked by Druze in all-terrain vehicles. The mob seized control of the ambulance, and the doctor, medic and driver all suffered minor injuries. While reinforcements consisting of IDF officers watched helplessly in the distance, the rioters attacked the wounded passengers. One was killed on the spot, while the other is now lying unconscious and in critical condition at an Israeli hospital. It was the first time that the wounded victims of war were lynched on Israeli territory.

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