‘US in charge of Syria coalition, so that’s who we asked for help’

The leader of the Druze minority in Israel, Sheikh Moafaq Tarif, says the Druze in Israel and abroad are “very concerned” by recent developments in the Syrian civil war and fear for the fate of their brethren there. The Druze leadership in Israel asked the US, European nations and the UN to act without delay to provide assistance to the Druze in Syria.

Tarif tells Israel Radio that the US is in charge of coalition strikes in Syria and it is therefore natural that it would be the US from which the community seeks help.

Following a massacre conducted by gunmen from the Al-Nusra Front rebel group in which several dozen Druze were killed last week, Sheikh Tarif says the group issued an apology and efforts are underway for dialogue. He expresses hope that the rebel group “understood the message” and added that “if the Druze will not live in peace in Syria, neither will those who harm them.”