Last week, Druze protesters gathered in Seyouf Square in Jaramana, a suburb of Damascus, to denounce Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent statements.

This came after Netanyahu threatened attacks on Syria just days after pledging to prevent the newly formed Syrian army from advancing south of Damascus and insisting on its complete demilitarisation.

“We will not allow the extremist Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze community,” Netanyahu’s office declared, essentially positioning Israel as the protector of the minority.

Checking Israeli media, one might get the impression that the Druze community is largely supportive of Israel’s growing assertiveness over their territory. But experts argue that the reality on the ground tells a completely different story.

“The perception that the Israeli government is trying to create is actually false. In other words, there is no pro-Israeli stance among the Druze,” tells Omer Ozkizilcik, a research fellow at the Atlantic Council, TRT World. 

The overwhelming majority of Druze spiritual leaders in Syria have publicly rejected integration with Israel.

On March 4, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the paramount spiritual leader of Syria’s Druze community, stated that the Druze would remain steadfast in their commitment to Syria’s unity, regardless of political changes.

Sheikh Suleiman Abdul Baqi, a prominent Druze leader in Syria, also firmly rejected any foreign interference in the country’s internal affairs. “We are Syrians, our identity is Syrian, and we want to build the country and live in peace,” he said. 

Similarly, Sheikh al-Jarbou, another influential spiritual leader, previously dismissed any calls for separation, describing the Druze as “an inseparable part of Syria.”

“The Damascus administration remains in contact with them and has neither verbally nor physically threatened them,” Ozkizilcik tells TRT World, referring to communications between the interim Syrian government and Druze leaders in Syria. 

“Israel is practically claiming to protect them from a threat they are not actually faced with,” he adds.

Following the unrest, on March 2, Syrian security forces entered Jaramana, displaying Druze flags on their vehicles. Since then, Syrian President Ahmed Alsharaa’s troops have been deployed in the area.

Against Israeli annexation and opportunism

The Druze population in the occupied Golan Heights has long resisted Israeli annexation, a stance dating back to the creation of the Israeli state.

“Historically speaking, Israel always wanted to use the Druze as a knife to stab the back of Arabism in historical Palestine,” says Eduardo Wassim Aboultaif, an academic and member of the editorial board of the Druze Studies Journal.

In 1982, Israel formally annexed the Golan Heights, prompting mass protests and a six-month general strike by the Druze community.

Over time, Israel’s Druze policy manifested in efforts to integrate the Golan Druze into its political system, offering them citizenship and conscription. Aboultaif argues that many were effectively forced into these arrangements due to Israel’s deliberate policy of economic impoverishment.

“Their municipalities receive less funds than Jewish ones, there is no development in their areas, no foreign direct investment (FDI), and no economic growth,” Aboultaif tells TRT World.

“More than half of their land property has been confiscated by Israel since 1948, and Israel prevents them from expanding their residential zones in their respective municipalities,” he adds.

Israel also promotes a “Jewish-Druze brotherhood” narrative in textbooks and official discourse, portraying Druze as loyal partners of the Jewish state rather than as part of the broader Palestinian and Arab identity.

However, Aboultaif emphasises that despite Israel’s ongoing efforts to “Zionize” their identity, the Druze continue to resist.

“They know Israel wants to use them to protect its borders, in a state where they are third-degree citizens, who do not benefit from state funding or development,” he says.

“Living under the weight of Israel’s policies”

The vast majority of Golan Druze still reject Israeli citizenship, refusing to sever ties with Syria.

As of late 2024, approximately 6,000 out of 29,000 Druze residents in the occupied Golan Heights held Israeli citizenship — only about 20% of the local Druze population.

“Israeli Druze face harsh living conditions today, yet they are still required to serve in the Israeli army. This is a really tough situation for the Druze,” says Tuba Yildiz, an academic and expert on Druze communities.

Yildiz maintains that the majority of Syrian Druze hold an anti-Israel sentiment and a strong sense of Arab nationalism. “Even though Israeli Druze today express loyalty to the state, they still live under the weight of Israel’s policies,” she tells TRT World.

“Nevertheless, Israel will not leave the Syrian Druze alone and will make every effort to sway them toward its interests,” she says.

She adds that any failure by Alsharaa to strengthen state institutions to counter Israeli influence and protect Druze rights could have “significant risks” in the future.

So far, Alsharaa has engaged in dialogue with Druze leaders to reassure them of their place in Syria’s future.

In December 2024, he appointed Muhsina al-Mahithawi, a member of Syria’s Druze minority, as its first female governor for the southern province of Suweida to lead her home province.

Within the same month, he also stated that no sects would be excluded in Syria’s “new era” during a meeting with Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.

On March 4, Alsharaa condemned Israeli attacks on southern Syria, asserting that they signal “expansionist intentions” by Israel, during a speech at the Arab summit held in Egypt.

“Israeli aggression is an exploitation of the regime’s collapse. (Israel) justifies its aggression for alleged security concerns, but it reflects expansionist intentions,” he said.

When asked about Syria’s planned response, Alsharaa declined to comment further, stating: “This is something we should not disclose now.”