Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday confirmed reports that Israel intends to allow Syrian Druze and Circassians to work in the Israeli side of the Golan Heights.
The unusual move of allowing foreign citizens of a hostile state, such as Syria, to work in Israel could have geopolitical ripples across the region and is a testament to how radically the Middle East has changed in just a few months.
Assad regime was toppled by rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is led by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, last December 7-8. Until then, the regime had abided by a 1974 ceasefire with Israel. Nevertheless, it was formally in a state of war with Israel, while it served as a critical link in the chain of smuggling Iranian weapons to Hezbollah.
This also presented a direct threat to Israel from Iranian militias that might invade and from the Syrian military’s air force, long-range missiles, and chemical weapons.The Syrian Druze were a minority in the Assad era who mostly kept to themselves, with some past positive history with Israel, especially with the Israeli Druze community. But it still mostly considered Israel to be a hostile party.
Sharaa changed all of that. His ascent to power sowed fear within Israel of a jihadist invasion and among Syrian Druze that they would be oppressed or attacked, even though he said he wants quiet within Syria and along its borders.Not trusting Sharaa due to his jihadist background, Israel moved quickly to create a buffer zone in southern Syria to prevent even the possibility of a new invasion; included in this zone were large segments of the Syrian Druze population.
IDF in Syria
Throughout the three months that IDF Division 210 has been in southern Syria, there have been efforts to build stronger relations with the Syrian Druze to keep them calm about Israel’s presence there and to avoid friction.Katz’s move, even though it is restricted to the Golan, is a major step in seeking to deepen relations between Israel and that community. It is also a sign that Israel plans to remain in southern Syria for an extended period.The timing of the announcement follows internal tensions within Syria that turned into deadly clashes with about 1,000 casualties. The top commander of a Syrian Kurdish armed group, whose forces are in a separate battle with Turkey, blamed Turkish-backed Islamist factions for some of the most disturbing violence, including the reported executions of civilians belonging to Assad’s Alawite sect.Sharaa’s office said it was forming an independent committee to investigate the clashes and killings by both sides. The clashes have pitted Assad loyalists against the country’s new Islamist rulers.The violence has led much of the West to question whether the new Syrian regime can be trusted and integrated into the Western economic system.Technically, there is no clear basis in international law for Israel to remain in Syria indefinitely or for Israel’s argument that its presence in Syria benefits the local Syrians and justifies the legitimacy of the IDF’s continued presence there.Katz credited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich with facilitating the move. Israel would protect the Syrian Druze community from threats by the new regime, he said.
Reuters contributed to this report.