Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demand for a demilitarized southern Syria and a pledge to protect the Druze communities in the area created an upheaval both on and offline.
Activists and bloggers were torn between those who supported the calls for peace and those who propagated fears of a division of Syria and outside interference.
“Listening is advised,” the Israeli premier warned on Sunday during an IDF combat officer graduation ceremony. “We will not allow the forces of HTS [Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham] or the new Syrian Army to enter the area south of Damascus.
“We demand a full demilitarization of southern Syria, in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa, and Suwayda. Likewise, we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria.”
Netanyahu’s remarks were viewed by many as a first-ever Israeli extension of patronage over the Druze communities in southern Syria.
In December, following the fall of the Assad regime, a meeting of Druze dignitaries from the Druze village of Hader, close to the Israeli Golan Heights, demanded in a viral video to join the Israeli Golan, regarding Israel as the “lesser evil” in comparison to the pro-jihadist militias loyal to the new regime.
“We are with those who preserve our dignity... I don’t mind if anyone is taking pictures or recording – we ask to be annexed to the Golan... The fate of Hader is the fate of the surrounding villages, we want to ask to join our kin in the Golan, to be free from injustice and oppression,” one speaker stated, while the others shouted, “We agree, we agree.”
There are two areas inhabited by Druze populations in the southern part of Syria. One is a cluster of a handful of villages right next to the Golan; the other is the major Druze population concentration in the Suwayda area, farther inside Syria.
The two areas have also shown different allegiances throughout the years, with the former more loyal to the Assad regime. The latter has seen continuous protests against Assad’s forces over the past decade, for what they deemed the systemic oppression of the Druze population in the area.
Differences of opinion
Comments on Netanyahu’s remarks have been varied, with many non-Druze expressing their disdain at what they deem a move toward a division of Syria – or the establishment of an Israeli-backed autonomy for the Druze in Southern Syria.
In Daraa, a predominantly Sunni city in the south of Syria, videos circulated of protests against Netanyahu’s remarks, showing dozens of activists shouting: “Netanyahu, you pig, Syria is not up for division! Syria is free!”
In the same context, wide criticism was aimed at three cities mentioned by Netanyahu, Quneitra, Daraa, and Sweida, by anti-Israel writers and Syrian regime loyalists.
Al-Jazeera anchor Faisal Al-Qasim, of Druze origin himself, commented against this criticism, “What is the fault of southern Syria... that these cities and their people have become a target to attack by some on social media because of Netanyahu’s statements? The honorable people of Quneitra, Daraa, and Suwayda are not responsible for Netanyahu’s statements, so they should not be accused... Who told you that the authentic, patriotic Syrian people of Quneitra, Daraa, and Suwayda will acquiesce to Netanyahu’s demands?”
Wazir Said Amon, a Druze sheikh and political activist from Yarka in Israel who is in constant contact with his compatriots in Syria, criticized the remarks, which he deemed “hasty” and “potentially leading to intrigues within Syrian society.”
“Things need to be carefully thought through,” he told The Jerusalem Post. “We are talking about a society that has lived for decades under a tyrannical regime, and these kinds of reckless messages can cause damage.”
Amon continued, “If you looked at Suwayda today, there were demonstrations rejecting Netanyahu’s remarks, and criticism against Suwayda.
“Us Druze in Israel stand with our brothers in Lebanon and Syria and we will help them in every way possible, but our prime minister should be more attentive to feelings and not to speak to Arabs like Westerners do,” Amon commented, adding that he is still positive that there are differences between what is heard on TV and “what is in the hearts.”
Other Druze voices were not as critical and conveyed carefully optimistic messages.
A source in the Druze community in Syria told the Post: “We extend a helping hand to anyone who wants the best for Suwayda and the Syrian south in general.
“Suwayda is suffering from accusations of treason from a wide segment of the rest of the Syrian provinces, and those critics do not care that there are hundreds of foreign nationalities present within the ranks of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which took control of the government in Damascus.”
In a similar manner, Tareq Al-Shoufi, commander of the newly formed Military Council in Suwayda, was quoted as saying “We thank everyone who supports the position of the Military Council and contributes to protecting the Druze community and the stability of the region.”
Likewise, Ahsan Farhat, a Syrian Druze finance manager from Suwayda currently living in Canada, said that, from what he hears on the ground, the main issues that concern the people of southern Syria are economic ones. “The people of Suwayda, Daraa, and Quneitra have lived through a difficult economic and political situation,” Farhat told the Post.
“The Druze support Netanyahu’s comments because, for them, it means giving more opportunities to live with dignity and without wars or extremists living around them. The majority are merchants and farmers who are not interested in extremism and suffered under the Assad regime,” he added.
Regarding the voices within Syria who oppose Netanyahu’s remarks, Farhat claimed that “Those are not from the ‘hungry.’”
“The hungry,” he said, “only want the best for their children. Ninety-nine percent of my environment thinks that the political situation needs to be resolved to allow the economy to grow.
“Why not make peace and have economic growth? Why not get rid of terrorists? Julani, although he tries to be charismatic and photogenic, came from a sinister background. He is very extremist, and those simple farmers in southern Syria don’t want Damascus to become the next Kabul.”