Israel’s defense ministry says the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of Damascus in neighboring Syria.

Instruction comes as new Syrian government authorities clash with local Druze gunmen in Jaramana, just outside capital The post Netanyahu and Katz direct IDF to ‘prepare to defend’ Syrian Druze suburb of Damascus appeared first on The Times of Israel.

By bnm Gulf bureau bnm Gulf bureau Fresh clashes south of Damascus between local Druze and government forces suggest the community may be laying groundwork for a semi-autonomous or fully independent non-Islamic statelet before Damascus manages to create a new government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the military to “prepare to defend” the Druze inhabitants of Jaramana city near Syria’s capital Damascus. This comes in a new escalation by Netanyahu's government against the new administration in Syria, which is demanding an end to the ongoing Israeli violations of the country's sovereignty.

Netanyahu never would have considered extending Israel’s protection to the Syrian Druze. That he is doing so now underscores how much has changed.

Druze leaders in Jaramana dismiss Israel’s offer of protection, reaffirming their Syrian identity amid increasing tensions with the government and armed factions [Damascus] Jaramana, a town near the Syrian capital of Damascus,