Israel says it struck near Syria palace over violence in Druze areas

Israel says its combatant jets bombed an country adjacent to the statesmanlike palace successful Syria's capital, Damascus, arsenic Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to support the Druze spiritual number pursuing days of deadly sectarian violence.

Netanyahu said the onslaught was "clear connection to the Syrian regime" that Israel would "not let the deployment of forces southbound of Damascus oregon immoderate menace to the Druze community".

There was nary contiguous effect from the Syrian government.

However, it rejected "foreign intervention" erstwhile Israel carried retired strikes southbound of Damascus connected Wednesday during clashes betwixt Druze gunmen, information forces and allied Sunni Islamist fighters.

The spiritual person of Syria's Druze, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, has condemned the unit arsenic an "unjustifiable genocidal campaign" against his assemblage and called for involution by "international forces to support peace".

The Syrian authorities has said it has deployed information forces to Druze areas to combat "outlaw groups" which it has accused of instigating the clashes.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani has besides warned that "any telephone for outer intervention, nether immoderate pretext oregon slogan, lone leads to further deterioration and division".

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, astatine slightest 102 radical person been killed this week successful Ashrafiyat Sahnaya, a municipality successful the confederate outskirts of Damascus, the chiefly Druze suburb of Jaramana, and the confederate state of Suweida, which has a Druze majority.

It says that includes 10 Druze civilians and 21 Druze fighters, arsenic good arsenic different 35 Druze fighters who were changeable dormant successful an "ambush" by information forces portion travelling from Suweida to Damascus connected Wednesday. Thirty members of the General Security work and allied fighters person besides been killed, it says.

The unit erupted successful Jaramana connected Monday nighttime aft an audio clip of a antheral insulting the Prophet Muhammad circulated connected societal media and angered Sunni Muslims. It was attributed to a Druze cleric, but helium denied immoderate responsibility. The interior ministry besides said a preliminary enquiry had cleared him.

The Druze religion is an offshoot of Shia Islam with its ain unsocial individuality and beliefs. Half its astir 1 cardinal followers unrecorded successful Syria, wherever they marque up astir 3% of the population, portion determination are smaller communities successful Lebanon, Israel and the occupied Golan Heights.

Syria's transitional President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has promised to support the country's galore spiritual and taste minorities since his Sunni Islamist radical led the rebel violative that overthrew Bashar al-Assad's authorities successful December aft 13 years of devastating civilian war.

However, the wide killings of hundreds of civilians from Assad's number Alawite sect successful the occidental coastal portion successful March, during clashes betwixt the caller information forces and Assad loyalists, hardened fears among number communities.

In February, Israel's premier curate warned that helium would not "tolerate immoderate menace to the Druze assemblage successful confederate Syria" from the country's caller information forces.

Netanyahu besides demanded the implicit demilitarisation of Suweida and 2 different confederate provinces, saying Israel saw Sharaa's Sunni Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), arsenic a threat. HTS is simply a erstwhile al-Qaeda affiliate that is inactive designated arsenic a violent organisation by the UN, the US, the EU and the UK.

The Israeli subject has already carried retired hundreds of strikes crossed Syria to destruct the country's subject assets implicit the past 4 months. It has besides sent troops into the UN-monitored demilitarised buffer portion betwixt the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria, arsenic good arsenic respective adjoining areas and the acme of Mount Hermon.