What Israel Wanted to Achieve With Threat of Military Intervention in Syrian Druze Village
The Israeli army doesn't plan to enter Syria, but it had a message for the Druze - and the Nusra Front
Amos Harel
Nov 04, 2017
A confrontation between Syrian President Bashar Assad’s army and extremist rebel groups in the northern Golan Heights created serious tension on the border between Israel and Syria on Friday. An attack by the Salafi Nusra Front on the Druze village of Khader, on the Syrian side of the Golan, led to a rare Israeli threat to use force to protect the village.
The spokesman of the Israel Defense Forces released a statement on the decision after Israeli Druze leaders turned to IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot on the matter.
The Syrian side of the Golan is divided into three main areas of influence. The northern section, from the area of the city of new Quneitra to the north, is controlled by the Assad regime, while the nearby Druze village of Khader is defended by a local Druze militia with the help of the Syrian army.
The central section, the largest one, is controlled by the rebels. The villages closer to the Israeli border are held by local militias that receive ample humanitarian aid from Israel – and according to reports in the foreign media, also weapons and ammunition. At the same time, these militias cooperate with the Nusra Front, whose fighters usually remain in the eastern villages farther from the Israeli border.
The southernmost section of the Syrian Golan Heights is controlled by a local affiliate of the Islamic State, which is fighting the rest of the rebel groups.
Friday morning, the Nusra Front rebels led an attack on Khader from the south and east. They exploded a car bomb that killed nine people – Syrian army soldiers and a number of local Druze – after which the army unit retreated from the village. The Nusra Front took advantage of the opportunity and brought forces in closer to Khader from a number of directions – it seems also from the north on a road under observation from Israel – and began firing on Khader.
These developments raised concerns among the Israeli Druze, and hundreds of Druze came to the Druze town of Majdal Shams on the Israeli side of the northern Golan, very close to the border. They hoped to get a glimpse of what was happening on the Syrian side. The leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Muwafak Tarif, even phoned Eisenkot to ask for military help for the people in Khader.
This is what led to the spokesman’s statement, that the IDF is “ready to help the villagers and prevent harm to or an occupation of the village out of a commitment to the Druze community.” The announcement came very soon after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech at the Chatham House think tank in London that Israel wouldn't intervene in the Syrian fighting.
But Khader is an exception. The Israeli Druze greatly fear for their brethren – and the IDF, it seems in coordination with the political leadership – wants to make clear that it won’t stand aside. But the intention is not to send soldiers to suffer casualties in Syrian territory because of a local conflict.
It’s more likely that the IDF thinks that such a signal, along with the threat to use “counterforce” – attacks by air, tanks or artillery – can deter the Nusra Front from advancing on the village. Given all this, Eisenkot accepted Tarif’s call and even sent the head of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick, to speak with the leaders of the Druze community at an IDF base in the Golan.
Two years ago, under similar circumstances, the IDF passed on a message to the Nusra Front when its fighters neared Khader; they then retreated. This time the declarations were more public. They once again reflect the growing tensions on the Syrian front given the Assad regime’s increasing confidence.
It’s likely the rebel attack on Khader was intended to head off attempts by the Syrian army to advance to the south while taking advantage of the regime’s momentum in other areas. On Wednesday, according to the Arab media, a Syrian antiaircraft battery fired on Israeli planes above Lebanon after they attacked an arms depot in Syria, with the weapons meant for Hezbollah. The pace of incidents involving Israel in the north is picking up, and with it the nervousness on all sides.
