As it courts Syria's Druze, will Israel counter Turkey or get cold shoulder?
Concerned over the growing influence of Turkey in Syria, Israel seeks ways to increase its own influence there, including renewing its partnership with the Druze.
TEL AVIV — Israel is seeking to resurrect and consolidate its partnerships with the Druze minority in neighboring Syria to serve as a possible counterweight to Turkish and Iranian influences in Syria.
Israeli officials often refer to Iran as an octopus, with its head in Tehran and its tentacles — its proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Syrian and Iraqi militias — reaching across the Middle East. "After we weakened the Iranian octopus that spread around us, the time has come to build an Israeli octopus as well,” a senior Israeli security source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.
“We have many years of contact with the Druze and Kurds in Syria, and with many other minorities in the countries of the region. There is no reason why Israel should not have proxies in the region, just like Iran has. In our case, the proxies should unite not on the basis of 'terror' or the spread of revolution, but on the basis of preserving democracy and human rights, freedom of worship and the sanctity of life. It's possible," the security source noted.
The Syrian Druze community is close to the Israeli Druze community, linked by family ties, providing the basis for the contacts between the Syrian Druze and the state of Israel. The community in Israel is considered extremely loyal to the country. Most Israeli Druze men, apart from those living on the Golan Heights, have served in the military. During the civil war in Syria, Israel sent humanitarian aid to the Druze there on several occasions. According to Ynet on Sunday, over the past month, Israel transferred 8,000 food packages to the Druze in the Syrian buffer zone and in Jabal al-Druze.
