Syria refuses to involve the Druze issue in the Israeli elections

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An official source in the Syrian government confirmed in a statement to the Syrian News Agency (SANA) on Thursday that the Druze component in Suwayda Governorate was and will remain an integral and authentic part of the national fabric of the Syrian Arab Republic, categorically rejecting its politicization or inclusion in Israeli propaganda and elections.

The source explained that a major and planned Israeli role targeted civil peace in Suwayda Governorate in July last year, by arming an outlaw militia to create complete chaos and create a pretext to drag the country into a wide-scale war, confirming the failure of those attempts, and monitoring persistent Israeli attempts to destabilize the governorate.

The source stated that in July last year - through American mediation - the Israeli bombing, which hindered the Syrian government’s intervention to end what happened between the Druze and Bedouins, was stopped, indicating the continuation of working at a steady pace with partners in the United States of America and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to implement the tripartite road map to reintegrate Suwayda in accordance with a Syrian national vision that guarantees the rights of the people, security and stability.

The source called on the international community, the United States, and the countries of the region to shoulder their responsibilities and put pressure on Israel to implement the 1974 Agreement and prevent it from interfering in the internal affairs of the Syrian Arab Republic.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced earlier Thursday that he had spoken with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa last year, in the first acknowledgment of direct communication between the two men.

In a speech he delivered at an election rally with members of the Druze community in Israel, Netanyahu referred to the bloody attacks that the Druze were subjected to in Syria in July 2025.

He said, according to footage broadcast by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (Kan), “I called Sharaa. It was a brief and very decisive call, and the massacre stopped.”

In July 2025, confrontations broke out in Suwayda between Druze militants and Bedouin fighters, before expanding with the intervention of government forces and then tribal militants alongside the Bedouins.

An official investigation committee formed by the authorities documented the killing of at least 1,760 people, according to a report presented in March.

After Israel, which says it wants to protect the Druze, intervened in the conflict, government forces withdrew from the city and parts of the governorate.

Last July, Damascus announced that it had held trial sessions for those accused in the violence that took place in Suwayda Governorate, against the backdrop of the violence.