Israel is working to unite splintered Druze factions in Syria’s Sweida area, providing them with arms and paying salaries of militia members in the wake of recent attacks and massacres of the Druze community there, Reuters reports.
Two senior Syrian Druze figures, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, say that since the Sweida fighting, Israel was helping unify splintered Druze factions and had delivered military supplies, including guns and ammunition to them.
The two Druze commanders and a Western intelligence source says that Israel was also paying salaries for many of the roughly 3,000 Druze militia fighters.
Reuters was not able to independently confirm the munitions supplies nor the payments. The offices of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who is spearheading Israeli talks with Syria, did not respond to Reuters questions on support for the Druze militia.
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