Video: Druze Demand to be Annexed by Israel as Jihadi Groups Consolidate Power in Syria
Druze leader: We want “to live with freedom and dignity like our people are living” in Israel.
As the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) moves to secure a buffer zone on the Syrian border, the local Druze community in the area is demanding to be annexed by Israel.
In a video posted on X, a Druze leader is seen addressing a community gathering, urging Israel to exert its sovereignty over the territory.
“We asked to be annexed to the Golan to preserve our dignity,” the Druze speaker said. He feared that resurgent Islamist fighters “might take our women, might take our daughters, they might take our houses.”
Residents of the Druze village of Hatcher in Syria demand annexation to Israel
The Druze residents declared during the well-attended gathering that they prefer to be part of the State of Israel out of fear of what could happen to the village following the rise of Sunni rebels to… pic.twitter.com/lQIJhemHRt
— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) December 13, 2024
“We ask in the name of all the surrounding area to join our people in the Golan, and to live with freedom and dignity like our people are living (in Israel),” he urged.
The video highlights that the Druze, who follow an Abrahamic religion separate from Islam, would prefer to live under Israeli law instead of under the rule of jihadi groups vying for power in Syria after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The Times of Israel reported Friday:
An unverified video circulating on social media purports to show a member of the Druze community in the southern Syrian village of Hader calling for the community to be annexed to the Israeli side of the Golan Heights.
Although the speech is in Arabic, a version of the video was posted on X with English captions.
Speaking to a large crowd, the man tells them to consider what they want their future to look like following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime earlier this week.
“If we have to choose, we will choose the lesser evil,” he says. “And even if it’s considered evil to ask to be annexed to the [Israeli] Golan, it’s a much lesser evil than the evil coming our way.”
He appears to be referring to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the largest of Syria’s rebel groups, which has its roots in al-Qaeda (…).
“That evil might take our women, might take our daughters, they might take our houses,” he says, according to the captions.
“Bashar al-Assad left,” he continues. “What do we have left? Nothing.”
“We asked to be annexed to the Golan to preserve our dignity,” he says, adding that he speaks for the Druze community across the surrounding area of the Quneitra Governorate.
“We ask in the name of all the surrounding area to join our people in the Golan, and to live with freedom and dignity like our people are living [in Israel].
He calls for the Syrian Druze to be freed from the “injustice and oppression” that was first imposed on them by the Assad regime, and which they fear will soon be imposed on them again by the Islamist rebel groups.
The Druze population, largely Arabic-speaking, is concentrated around the Golan Heights region — divided between Syria and Israel. Israel is home to around 140,000 Druze, many of them living in the Golan region.
Members of this small minority, which make up less than two percent of the Israeli population, have distinguished themselves in the Jewish State’s military, social, and cultural life.
BREAKING: The Druze leader of al-Suwayda in southwestern Syria issued a statement for his village.
“We will not agree to live under the rule of the rebels, who are identical to ISIS, we want to live under Israeli rule and become part of Israel.”
pic.twitter.com/x5y1IqSqrM— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) December 13, 2024
Israeli troops secure Syria buffer zone, uncover weapons cache
The IDF continued to build trenches and obstacles in the Syrian buffer zone in an effort to make the Israeli border secure from future hostile incursions. The troops were “strengthening the engineering barrier on the Syrian border and continuing its defensive missions to ensure the security of Israeli citizens, particularly the residents of the Golan Heights,” the military assured in a statement Friday.
The IDF said that 474th Brigade Combat Team, including engineering, armor, paratrooper, and Egoz Unit forces are conducting defensive missions in the Area of Separation in Syrian territory and along the border.
The troops have been deployed to strategic positions in the Area of… pic.twitter.com/se6QqV1lG5
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) December 13, 2024
Israeli combat troops and engineers were “conducting defensive missions in the Area of Separation in Syrian territory and along the border,” the military revealed.
The Israeli “troops have been deployed to strategic positions in the Area of Separation to strengthen defense in the area,” the IDF added. “During scans, IDF paratroopers located a variety of weapons, including anti-tank missiles, military vests, ammunition, and additional military equipment.”
On Thursday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israeli will temporarily hold the buffer zone to prevent jihadi groups from filling the vacuum created by Assad’s fall.
IDF destroys terror sites in southern Lebanon, as Hezbollah continues hostile activities despite ceasefire
The Israeli military was conducting counter-terrorism operations in southern Lebanon as Hezbollah continued hostile activities in the area despite a U.S.-backed ceasefire.
The IDF was “continuing operational activities to neutralize threats from Hezbollah terror sites near the border with Israel in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli military said in a press release Friday.
“During these activities, the soldiers discovered a large cache of weapons, including concealed Kornet missile launchers, AK-47 rifles, magazines, other military equipment and missiles hidden in dense, and mountainous terrain,” the IDF revealed.
“The troops also located and confiscated an anti-tank missile launch site used by Hezbollah to fire at communities in the Upper Galilee over the past year,” the military said.
IDF troops operating in southern Lebanon amid the ceasefire continue to find Hezbollah weaponry, the military says.
The IDF says soldiers of the 769th "Hiram" Regional Brigade captured anti-tank missiles, assault rifles, RPGs, mortars, and other weapons and equipment during… pic.twitter.com/wc1lSmDSTl
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 13, 2024
The troops “deployed in southern Lebanon and along the border, [were] conducting operational activities to eliminate threats to Israeli citizens, while acting in accordance with the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF assured.
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Comments
fascinating….so a group of “indigenous” arabs in the middle east WANT to live in the vile apartheid genocidal rogue state of Israel??
/sarcasm
I bet this news doesn’t go anywhere in this country.
And under Netanyahu no less!
I have no problem with it.
I do…they are calling it “the lesser evil”
This is like the US annexing East Germany and then providing them with political representation.
No way would I want these people gaining a foothold in the Israeli government. Israel should set them up as a territory like Puerto Rico
The Druze in Israel have been very loyal to the State of Israel. I would expect no less loyalty from these Druze.
I worked with a Druze man many years ago, I was so impressed with him that I researched who they were. I think that Druze would be an asset for Israel and America. It is all about culture. They are pretty bright..
As Hollywood once said, “Gutsiest move I ever saw, Mav”
I can’t blame them. After Jolani announced at a press conference recently that Sharia Law would be one of the four pillars upon which this new Syria will be built…
https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/13/middleeast/can-islamist-rebels-govern-syria-intl/index.html
…I suspect there will be a number of minority groups in Syria that would gleefully be annexed by Israel. Syria is transitioning from an autocratic secular group of murderous Muslims to an autocratic, fundamentalist group of murderous Muslims. That’s ‘progress’ in the Muslim world.
Islam is a totalitarian political ideology and death cult pretending to be a religion.
That’s been the general pattern in the Middle East for quite some time now. One autocratic regime Falls and is replaced by an even worse autocratic regime.
Wait until the Hamassholes hear about this! Surely the Durzes want to live in the Gaza paradise under their rule!
Did they “request” to be annexed or did they “demand” to be annexed. I generally hear out requests, and pretty much unilaterally ignore demands. Whenever I hear a demand in thsi context, I always think of Raoul Duke tied to a stake in front of an Iranian firing squad yelling “and that is my final offer.”
Israel would be justified in annexing the whole Golan area, including the Druze inhabited areas. Given that it’s the best defensive terrain in the whole region, plus it appears that Syria is about to be divided up among the winners and none of them are close to being a direct challenge to Israel, the Druze occupied lands would provide a new buffer zone for Israel, backed up by a much improved defensive position in the Heights. It should be a win all around.
Asking and Demanding are two very separate things.
Israel should take all of Syria.
1/2 want to be Israeli, arm and back them.
The other 1/2 don’t.
Comes in at a wash, own Syria for nothing and little loss.
And security for Israel… never better.
Good news perhaps. A validation of Israel and a vilification of the lie that Israel is the natural enemy of the Arabs. Comes with the caveat “forget it Jake…it’s the Middle East”.
These people are in a very difficult position. I can’t imagine Israel taking them in. It would incur the wrath of the world, as usual, and Israel would need to expand its defenses to these Druze. The Druze are justified in their fear of the “rebels.” After this video of the meeting came out, a second video of a meeting was released. It had fewer people participating and looked staged. In it, the people vote to stay in Syria. They are scared.
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