Middle East

Syria, who the Druze are and why Israel protects them

As Sharaa seeks to establish control over Syria and unite its various groups, it remains to be seen whether his Islamist-dominated government will be able to reconcile Syria's deep sectarian divisions, fuelled by years of civil war

18 July 2025

Drusi siriani al confine tra Siria e Israele sulle Alture del Golan scortati dai soldati israeliani (AP Photo/Leo Correa) Associated Press / LaPresse Only italy and spain

6' min read

The fragile peace in Syria continues to be threatened by sectarian violence involving the Druze and the continued attacks by Israel, which the Druze defend. The Syrian presidency accused Druze fighters in Sweida of violating the ceasefire that led to the withdrawal of government forces from the southern province. In a statement, the presidency accused the 'outlawed forces' - the term the government uses to refer to the Druze factions in Sweida - of violating the agreement by being responsible for 'horrific violence' against civilians, including 'crimes that completely violate mediation obligations, directly threaten civil peace and push towards chaos and security collapse'. It also warned against 'continued blatant Israeli interference in Syria's internal affairs, which only leads to further chaos and destruction and further complicates the regional situation'.

History

The Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethnic-religious minority in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the occupied Golan Heights. The Druze faith is a branch of Shia Islam, but the Druze do not identify themselves as Muslims, have their own identity and believe in reincarnation and the eternity of the soul.

The Druze faith originated in Egypt as an offshoot of Ismailite Shi'ism when, during the reign of the sixth Fatimid caliph, al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh, some Ismailite theologians began to organise a movement that proclaimed al-Ḥākim a divine figure. Although the idea was probably encouraged by al-Ḥākim himself, it was condemned as heresy by the Fatimid religious establishment, which claimed that al-Ḥākim and his predecessors were not divine. In 1017, the doctrine was preached publicly for the first time, causing riots in Cairo.

Despite the small size of the community, the Druze have played a prominent role in the history of the Middle East. During the Crusades, Druze soldiers helped the Ayyubid and later Mamluk forces, resisting the Crusader advance on the Lebanese coast. The Druze enjoyed considerable autonomy under the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to the 19th century, a series of powerful feudal lords dominated Druze political life. One of the most famous was the 17th century ruler Fakhr al-Dīn II, who formed a coalition with the Maronite Christians of the Lebanese Mountains and challenged Ottoman authority.

The relationship with Israel

Today, over 20,000 Druze live on the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that Israel wrested from Syria during the Six Day War in 1967, before formally annexing it in 1981. The Druze share the territory with about 25,000 Jewish settlers, distributed in more than 30 settlements.

Most of the Druze living in the Golan identify themselves as Syrians and refused the offer of Israeli citizenship when Israel occupied the region. Those who refused received Israeli residence permits, but are not considered Israeli citizens.

Unlike the Syrian Druze, the Druze living within Israel's borders - lacking a unifying reference figure - are largely loyal to the state, and some of them hold high-ranking positions in the Israeli army. According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, about 152,000 Druze live in Israel and in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The community in Syria

Syria has the highest population of Druze: over 700,000 in the early 2020s. Most Druze in Syria arrived from Lebanon in the 18th century and settled around Sweida (Al-Suwaydāʾ) in the region of Jabal Al-Durūz (the Druze Mountain), where the vast majority of Druze in Syria continue to live today. In 1925, the Druze leader Sulṭān al-Aṭrash led an uprising against French rule. After local success, Syrian nationalists from outside the Druze community joined the revolt and the rebellion spread throughout the region and Damascus before being crushed in 1927. Among Syrians, this revolt is remembered as the country's first nationalist uprising.

In southern Syria, where the Druze constitute the majority in the province of Suwayda, the community has at times been caught between the forces of the former Assad regime and extremist groups during the decades-long Syrian civil war.

The Druze in Syria represent about 3% of the population. Historically, they have occupied a precarious position in the Syrian political order. During the Syrian civil war, which lasted almost 14 years, the Druze ran their own militia in southern Syria. Since the fall of Assad in December, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a Sunni Islamist leader, took control of the country in late 2024 and pushed the local militias to disarm. The Druze have resisted attempts by the state to impose its authority over southern Syria. While Druze factions in Syria are divided in their approach to the new authorities, ranging from caution to outright rejection, many oppose the official Syrian security presence in Suweida and have resisted integration into the Syrian army, relying instead on local militias.

Although the Syrian government condemns the recent attacks against the Druze and pledges to restore order in southern Syria, its armed forces have also been accused of attacking the minority: the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has documented 'summary executions' of Druze by government forces. Such reports have fuelled distrust among some members of the Druze community towards the authorities in Damascus.

The new regime and Israel's activism

After the sudden fall of Assad, Israel reached out to the Druze community near its northern border in an attempt to forge alliances with the Syrian minorities. Israel increasingly positioned itself as a regional protector of minorities, including Kurds and Syrian Druze, and at the same time attacked military sites in Syria and government forces.

During the sectarian clashes in May, Israel carried out attacks near the presidential palace in Damascus, claiming it was a warning against attacks against the Druze. However, some Druze figures in Syria and Lebanon have accused Israel of fuelling sectarian divisions to further its expansionist aspirations in the region.

The most recent attacks were mainly intended as a warning and a deterrent against the deployment of the Syrian army in southern Syria, with Israel seeking to create a demilitarised zone in the area. In particular, Israel fears the presence of Islamist fighters near its northern border, along the Golan Heights it occupies.

While Israeli air strikes on 15 July were limited to targeting security forces and vehicles in Suweida, the Israeli army expanded the scope of its attacks on 16 July, hitting the Ministry of Defence and the Syrian army headquarters in Damascus. Syria condemned the attacks.

The attacks represented the most serious Israeli escalation in Syria since December 2024, when Israel destroyed hundreds of military sites across the country and captured a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syria's Golan Heights. Israel has attacked Syria several times with the intention of preventing the new authorities from strengthening its military capabilities, which are considered a potential threat to Israeli security.

"The warnings to Damascus are over, now painful blows will come," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on social media on 16 July, shortly after the Israeli attacks on Damascus began.

The attack on the Syrian military headquarters was broadcast live by Syria's main television station from its studios opposite the building, with the presenter being filmed as she fled the studio.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the United States was 'very concerned' about the violence and announced on 16 July: 'We have agreed on specific measures that will put an end to this worrying and horrific situation tonight'.

Several Arab states, including Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt and Kuwait, condemned the Israeli attacks against the Syrian government and security forces. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry denounced what it called "Israel's blatant attacks" against Syria, while Iran described the attacks as "all too predictable". Turkey, a key player in post-Assad Syria, described the attacks as 'an act of sabotage against Syria's efforts to ensure peace, stability and security'.

The violence has highlighted the fragility of Syria's post-war political and security landscape, with the most recent wave of violence fuelling fears of renewed sectarian attacks across Syria.

As Sharaa seeks to establish control over Syria and unite its various groups, it remains to be seen whether his Islamist-dominated government will be able to reconcile Syria's deep sectarian divisions, fuelled by years of civil war. Sectarian clashes, coupled with Israeli attacks, threaten to thwart attempts at state-building and post-war recovery.

Israel, for its part, is likely to continue to perceive the new authorities and affiliated Islamist fighters in the south as a significant security threat, prompting it to form alliances with groups that might not recognise themselves in the new authorities.