Senior officer says ‘Syrians need to stay in Syria’

Amid fears of an influx of Syrian refugees to Israel’s borders, a senior IDF officer tells Israeli reporters “Syrians need to stay in Syria, and Israelis in Israel.”

The officer says the rebels encircling the Druze village of Hader in the Syrian Golan Heights are “not involved in activity against Israel.”

“Hader can fall into other hands, but we aren’t [getting] involved,” he says, adding that the IDF would be “happy to steer clear of the violence.”

The officer dispels rumors of a massacre of Druze in Syria, and criticizes the “improbable disinformation” that spread through Israel’s Druze community.

“The fighting ended yesterday morning, and by evening the Druze came with mattresses to contribute to a field hospital that does not exist,” he says. He says there is no plan to build a field hospital on the northern border, although Israel won’t rule out treating wounded Syrians.