Syria says Israeli attack near presidential palace is 'dangerous escalation'

Druze spiritual leader in Israel thanks Benjamin Netanyahu for 'protecting the Druze in Syria', including bombing the palace

Syrian authorities have condemned the Israeli attack near the presidential palace in Damascus, describing it as a “dangerous escalation” against state institutions and national sovereignty.

“The Syrian presidency calls on the international community and Arab states to stand with Syria in the face of these hostile assaults that violate international laws and treaties,” Syria's presidency said in a statement. “These attacks − whether foreign or domestic − target Syria’s unity, but they will not succeed in weakening the will of the Syrian people”

The statement also urged all parties to commit to dialogue and co-operation in the interest of national unity.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday that he spoke with the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Sheikh Muwafeq Tarif, who thanked him for his "directive to act decisively to protect the Druze in Syria in recent days, including his decision last night to bomb the presidential palace complex in Damascus".

“Sheikh Tarif said that the strong actions ordered by the Prime Minister sent a deterrent message to the Syrian regime regarding Israel's commitment to the Druze community in Syria,” according to the statement.

“The Prime Minister told the sheikh that he expects the Druze community to respect the law in Israel,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, Walid Jumblatt, the Lebanese figurehead of the Druze community, met Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara in Damascus on Friday, but left without making a statement.

On Thursday, he accused Israel of seeking to sow discord in Syria and the Druze community through its attacks. Mr Jumblatt has previously called on the Druze community in Syria to remain vigilant against foreign interference.

Israel has escalated its aggression on Syria by launching air strikes and warned of further action if authorities failed to halt sectarian violence targeting the Druze minority.

“Israel struck last night near the presidential palace in Damascus,” Mr Netanyahu said in a joint statement with Defence Minister Israel Katz.

“This is a clear message to the Syrian regime: We will not allow [Syrian] forces to deploy south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community.”

The Israeli military later confirmed it had struck “adjacent to the area of the palace” of Mr Al Shara in Damascus, without giving more details.

Israel has struck Syria several times this week after violence between pro-Syrian government gunmen and Druze fighters near the capital. The clashes left dozens of people dead or wounded.

Druze men are subject to mandatory conscription and have served in the Israeli army for decades. As a result, maintaining a strong relationship with the Druze community has been a priority for Israeli governments.

About 25,000 Druze live in the occupied Golan Heights, and another 140,000 live in Israel. Most of the Druze living in the Golan Heights have refrained from adopting Israeli citizenship, although they have access to Israeli public services and the labour market.

The sectarian violence began after an attack on Tuesday on Druze areas of Sahnaya, a large suburb of the Syrian capital, by militants from the nearby areas of Hajar Al Aswad, Mouaddamiyeh and Balbila. The attack was sparked by a voice recording cursing the Prophet, which Sunni militants accused the Druze of creating.

Rejecting foreign intervention

Parts of the southern province of Suwayda, the sect’s ancestral home, also came under assault from gunmen in nearby Deraa, in the biggest threat to the ancient minority since Hayat Tahrir Al Sham took power last year. The group led the rebel offensive that toppled Bashar Al Assad in December and formed the transitional government led by Mr Al Shara.

Israel on Wednesday carried out a strike in Syria against what it called “an extremist group” that attacked members of the Druze community.

A Syrian Foreign Ministry statement rejected “all forms of foreign intervention” in Syria's internal affairs, without mentioning Israel, and declared Syria's commitment to protecting all Syrian groups “including the noble Druze sect”.

The Israeli attacks on Syria pose further challenges to Mr Al Shara's efforts to assert his control over the country.

Syrian Druze spiritual leader Hikmat Al Hijri on Thursday condemned a “genocidal campaign” against his people and called for “international forces to maintain peace and prevent the continuation of these crimes”.

The mayor of Sahnaya and his son were shot dead by unknown assailants, hours after forces from the Syrian ministries of defence and the interior entered the area, local media have reported.

On Friday, state media said an agreement had been reached to surrender heavy weapons and restore normal life. There was no immediate comment from the Druze community.

The aftermath of clashes between pro-government fighters and Druze gunmen in the town of Sahnaya, south of Damascus. AP

The US condemned the violence and called on the interim authorities to hold perpetrators accountable.

“The recent violence and inflammatory rhetoric targeting members of the Druze community in Syria is reprehensible and unacceptable,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. She confirmed that US representatives met the Syrian delegation led by Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani in New York on Tuesday.

“Any future normalisation of relations or lifting of sanctions … will depend on the interim authority's actions and positive response to the specific confidence-building measures we have communicated,” she added.

The Druze number less than one million people in the Middle East but they inhabit strategic mountain areas at the crossroads of big power competition in the region.

Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara meets Druze figurehead Walid Jumblatt in Damascus. Photo: Presidency of the Syrian Arab Republic

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday condemned the strike on the presidential palace in Damascus, calling on both sides to cease all hostilities and exercise "maximum restraint", his spokesman said. A number of Arab countries also condemned the attack.

In Lebanon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said his government stood in solidarity with Syria following the Israeli attacks. Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Mr Salam said Lebanon’s biggest concern in Syria was the country's stability.

Explainer: Who are the Druze and why is this minority group in the headlines?

Israeli Druze, led by spiritual leader Muwafeq Tarif, centre, at a welcome ceremony for Syrian delegations at the holy site of Nabi Shu'ayb, near the Sea of Galilee. EPA