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Syrian Druze

Buq'ata mayor William Abu Awad, left, and Salman Owida, Director General of Buq'ata on October 12, 2026. (Courtesy/Saleh Farhat)
October 21, 2026, 1:56 pm
In historic first, some Golan Druze, now new citizens, plan to vote in national election
As taboos against naturalization and voting ebb, Buq’ata Mayor William Abu Awad expects many locals to back Benjamin Netanyahu, out of gratitude for Israel’s aiding their Syrian brethren
By Diana Bletter
Druze horsemen and cattle growers from the four Golan Heights Druze villages of Majdal Shams, Ein Qiniyye, Buq’ata and Mas’ade parade through the Golan Heights ahead of Eid al-Adha festival, in Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, May 23, 2026. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
September 14, 2026, 10:06 am
Golan Druze increasingly embrace Israel, reject Syria in seismic shift triggered by tragedy
After decades of identifying as Syrian, community that saw kids killed by Hezbollah rocket and brethren massacred by forces controlling Damascus pivots toward ‘protector’ Israel
By Diana Bletter
Syrian Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Kabawat, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press, in Damascus, Syria, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
September 9, 2026, 12:15 am
Syrian social affairs minister, a Christian woman, urges equality in constitution
Hind Kabawat, in Rome for meeting with pope, says new regime must do more to show it’s ‘inclusive’ in order to stem emigration by religious minorities
By AFP
Illustrative: Syrian security personnel officers guard the road on the outskirts of Sweida, southern Syria on February 26, 2026. (LOUAI BESHARA/AFP)
September 1, 2026, 7:45 am
10 Syrian security personnel reported wounded in clashes in Sweida
State TV claims ‘outlaw groups’ launched attacks, as Druze-affiliated group accuses government forces of firing mortal shells and machine guns toward civilians
By AFP and ToI Staff
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa addresses the inaugural session of Syria’s newly formed People’s Assembly, the first since the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government, in Damascus, Syria on Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
July 12, 2026, 6:16 pm
Syria’s interim parliament meets for first time after Assad overthrow
At chamber’s first session in Damascus, President Sharaa calls on lawmakers to model ‘responsibility and competence’; three seats for Druze-majority Sweida remain empty
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Tribal and Bedouin fighters in al-Dur village in Syria's Druze-majority southern Sweida governorate as they mobilize amid clashes with Druze gunmen on July 18, 2025. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
July 4, 2026, 7:53 am
Syria starts trials over deadly 2025 violence in Druze heartland
Government intervention on side of Bedouin tribes that clashed with Druze in Sweida last July triggered Israeli strikes; suspects include staff from defense, interior ministries
By AFP
People injured in a Hezbollah missile strike on Kiryat Shmona arrive at Ziv Medical Center in Safed, northern Israel, March 23, 2026. (David Cohen/Flash90)
June 18, 2026, 6:53 pm
Three Hezbollah terrorists treated at northern Israel hospital, sources say
Operatives kept bound and blindfolded under IDF guard at Ziv Medical Center, ToI told; IDF and hospital don’t deny details, say all patients given care as required by law
By Nava Freiberg
Syrian government security forces block Bedouin fighters, foreground, from entering Sweida province, in Busra al-Harir village, southern Syria, July 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
March 27, 2026, 5:02 pm
Scathing UN report demands Syria probe abuses during clashes with Druze; 1,700 were killed
Investigators find ‘no indication’ that Damascus looked into human rights violations committed by forces, detail ‘widespread looting, systematic burning’ against Druze civilians
By Kareem Chehayeb
Security personnel and officials gather next to buses with prisoners on board during an exchange of prisoners ceremony between Syrian authorities and Druze fighters, on the outskirts of Sweida on February 26, 2026. (LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
February 26, 2026, 1:52 pm
Syrian government forces and Druze factions exchange prisoners in Sweida
Under Red Cross supervision, Damascus releases 61 prisoners while Druze National Guard Forces free 25 Syrian government personnel
By Feras Dalatey
People chant slogans while waving the Druze flag during a weekly rally in Sweida, southern Syria, on September 20, 2025. (AP/Fahd Kiwan)
February 24, 2026, 8:36 pm
US mediating prisoner exchange talks between Damascus and Druze — source
Talks aim to free over 60 civilians from Druze-majority Sweida, where sectarian clashes broke out last year, prompting Israeli intervention, in exchange for 30 government personnel
By AFP
Sheikh Muafak Tarif, spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, poses for a picture during an interview in the village of Julis in northern Israel on February 15, 2026. (Jalaa Marey / AFP)
February 20, 2026, 9:49 am
Israeli Druze leader says Syrian community remains ‘besieged’ months after clashes
Sheikh Muafak Tarif says over 120,000 still displaced, 300 held captive following clashes that erupted with government and Bedouin tribal forces in Sweida last year
By AFP
A gunman walks by the remains of a house destroyed during the recent sectarian clashes in the Druze-majority town of Sweida, southern Syria, on September 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Fahd Kiwan)
February 8, 2026, 10:10 am
Syrian security officer arrested over killing of civilians in Druze-majority Sweida
Suspect arrested with help of survivor of attack, in which four people were shot dead and a fifth was seriously wounded while harvesting olives
By AFP
Women walk by a damaged car in the predominantly Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood after days of fighting between government forces and Kurdish fighters in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, January 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
January 13, 2026, 8:09 pm
Syrian army, Kurds exchange fire in area near Aleppo declared closed military zone
Renewed conflict with minorities comes as Syrian Druze leader accuses al-Sharaa government of attempted ‘genocide,’ says his community is ‘inseparable part of Israel’s system’
By AP and ToI Staff
Illustrative: Druze boys hold their sect religious flags stand next to Druze gunmen, a day after clashes between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters. April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
December 24, 2025, 12:35 am
Report: Israel began airdropping weapons to Syrian Druze days after Assad’s ouster
Defensive equipment shipments continue, but arms deliveries tapered off as Israel sought talks with Sharaa and grew wary of Syrian Druze infighting, sources tell Washington Post
By Noam Lehmann
Israeli Druze leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif attends a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, November 24, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
December 10, 2025, 5:03 pm
Israeli Druze leader seeks US security guarantees for Syrian counterparts
After the bloodshed in Sweida this year, Sheikh Muafak Tarif says Washington must fulfill ‘duty’ to protect minority group, stresses need for Druze self-determination
By Olivia Le Poidevin and Suleiman Al-Khalidi
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