Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues a video statement imploring members of the Druze community not to cross the border into Syria to try and rescue their brethren under attack by Syrian regime forces in the city of Sweida.
“My fellow Druze citizens of Israel, the situation in Sweida, the situation in southwestern Syria, is very serious,” Netanyahu says. “The IDF is working, the Air Force is working, other forces are working. We are working to save our Druze brothers and to eliminate the regime’s gangs.”
“And now I have one request from you: You are citizens of Israel. Do not cross the border,” Netanyahu says amid scenes of chaos on the frontier in the Golan Heights.
“You are risking your lives; you can be murdered, you can be kidnapped and you are harming the efforts of the IDF. Therefore, I ask you – return to your homes, let the IDF operate,” he says.
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Wednesday, July 16, 2025
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