Report: 2,000 Israeli Druze warn they’ll join fighting in Syria if attacks persist

Kan news reports that some 2,000 Druze in Israel have signed onto a document declaring their intention to join the fighting in Syria if attacks against Druze by Bedouin tribesmen and government-allied forces do not stop.

“We are preparing to volunteer to fight alongside our brothers in Sweida. It is our time to be ready to defend our brothers, our land, and our religion,” the document says, according to Kan.

Signatories include active reservists in the IDF, the network says, and the letter has sparked intense concern in the Israeli security establishment, which is striving to convince Druze leaders to leave it to the IDF to address any further violence.

Ceasefires have repeatedly been declared in the Sweida region in recent days but have been broken time and again.

In recent hours reports have indicated that clashes in the city of Sweida have been halted and the area was cleared of Bedouin tribal fighters following the deployment of Syrian security forces to enforce a ceasefire.