Israel’s Contradictory Demands: Disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon, Arm Druze in Syria

 

Israel declared hostility toward Syria’s new regime following Assad’s fall. It bombed old Syrian army bases and weapons, and violated the 1974 disengagement line, seizing Syrian territory and the Mount Hermon summit overlooking Damascus during November and December of last year.

Israeli officials escalated threats against Syrian President Ahmad al-Shar’a, even calling for his assassination and accusing him of establishing an Islamic caliphate in Syria and persecuting minorities.

On July 16, Israeli jets targeted the vicinity of the Syrian presidential palace in Qasioun and the General Staff building in Umayyad Square in central Damascus, destroying it. Simultaneously, they directly struck Syrian government security forces engaged in clashes with a Druze militia attempting to impose state control over Suwayda province in the south. The attack killed dozens of government fighters and enabled the Druze militia loyal to Hikmat al-Hijri to retake control of the province.

The Syrian government repeatedly stated its intention to monopolize arms and disarm all armed groups within Syrian territory. Meanwhile, the Israeli government repeatedly warned the new Syrian leadership against any military presence in the south and pledged to protect the (armed) Druze against al-Shar’a’s government.

Israel’s demands for a demilitarized southern Syria and military protection for the Druze militia highlight contradictions in its policies compared to Arab countries like Lebanon, where Israel demands Hezbollah’s disarmament and the Lebanese state’s monopoly on weapons. However, Lebanon’s government is unable to disarm Hezbollah, leading to continued Israeli shelling of Lebanon and retention of Lebanese territory until Hezbollah is disarmed.

Despite American and Turkish mediation and meetings between Syrian and Israeli officials in Baku, Azerbaijan, and later in France, negotiations yielded no results due to Syria’s firm stance on:

1. Asserting authority over all its territory, including Suwayda and SDF-controlled areas.
2. Rejecting Israeli interference in Syria’s internal affairs.
3. Demanding Israel return territory seized after Assad’s fall and revert to the disengagement line.
4. Halting Israeli attacks on Syrian land under the pretext of “protecting minorities.”

American and Israeli media reported that President Trump was surprised by Israel’s bombing of Damascus. His Secretary of State called for de-escalation and dialogue between the parties. Yet, without real American pressure, Israel appears intent on protecting Druze military control over their province and keeping Syria weak and fragmented—an approach consistent with its security interests, which Israeli officials have openly reiterated multiple times.

Moumin sawady