Syria's Druze leader says community is an integral part of Israel amid Suwayda tensions
Syria's top Druze spiritual leader has said the community is "an integral part of the State of Israel," in a statement that has sharpened tensions between Suwayda province and Damascus. Hikmat al-Hijri made the remarks at a gathering in Suwayda on Monday, according to the supplied report, and linked his comments to a broader vision for the province's future. He also hinted that developments in Suwayda could be announced within days.
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Al-Hijri is one of Syria's three Sheikh al-Aql, the senior religious leaders of the Druze community, and is described as its most influential political and spiritual figure in Suwayda. In the statement, he praised Israel's model of state-building and said the two communities shared "common denominators" that extended to doctrine. He also said the region's inhabitants shared a common fate and that the current period would require sacrifices to achieve stability.
The remarks are likely to deepen an already sensitive dispute over the status of Suwayda, where many Druze live in the southwest of Syria and in the surrounding Jabal al-Arab area. The report says al-Hijri has previously called for special administrative arrangements for Suwayda and floated the idea of the province coming under international protection or joining another state. It also says he has resisted integration with the new Damascus government under President Ahmad al-Sharaa since Bashar al-Assad's fall in December 2024.
The statement matters because the Druze community occupies a politically delicate position across Syria, Lebanon and Israel, and its status has long carried regional implications. The report says there are roughly 1 million Druze worldwide, with smaller communities in Lebanon and Israel and a larger concentration in Suwayda province. It also notes that Israeli Druze have a distinct status inside Israel and are subject to mandatory military service, which adds to the sensitivity of any public alignment between Druze figures and the Israeli state.
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The latest comments also come against a backdrop of periodic armed clashes in Suwayda between local factions and forces affiliated with the central government. The report says al-Hijri thanked Israel publicly for military intervention during clashes in July 2025, when Israeli aircraft struck targets in Damascus and elsewhere. Syria's government condemned those strikes as a violation of sovereignty, underscoring how quickly local unrest in the south can draw in wider regional actors.
What remains unclear is what al-Hijri meant by developments that could be announced within days, and whether they relate to political, administrative or security changes in Suwayda. It is also not clear how Damascus will respond to the latest statement or whether it will affect the province's already strained relationship with the central authorities. The situation is likely to be watched closely for any sign of escalation or a formal move by local Druze leaders.
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