Upon shaking the hand of Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, during a tripartite meeting in Saudi Arabia earlier this spring, U.S. President Donald Trump praised the self-declared new leader of the Arab republic. Al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is a former Al-Qaeda and ISIS jihadist wanted by the United States, with a $10 million bounty on his head.
He was described by Trump as a “young, attractive guy” with a “real shot at doing a good job.” The president went as far as to remove all sanctions on Syria “to give them a chance at greatness.” And he urged al-Sharaa to join the Abraham Accords with its neighbor and U.S. ally: Israel.
The president’s aspirations for Syria, however, could be overshadowed by al-Sharaa’s destructive plans toward his country’s Druze.
Shortly before meeting Trump, the former head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a Sunni Islamist political and paramilitary group that was formed in 2017, unleashed his henchmen to target Druze villages across Syria’s south, across the border from Israel. Al-Sharaa loyalists butchered more than 100 Druze on the outskirts of Damascus. Eyewitness accounts and graphic videos described scenes of mass violence, abductions and rape cases. Hundreds were displaced, fleeing for their lives.
Deep underground in the headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces in central Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his security cabinet recognized the moment as both a moral imperative and a strategic opportunity to take action. In the face of a real prospect of genocide taking place right across the border, Israel decided to protect the vulnerable with Netanyahu declaring: “We will not allow the radical Islamic terror regime in Syria to harm the Druze,” sending the message that anyone who harms the Druze is picking a fight with Israel.
Israel has demonstrated its resolve to protect the Druze. In March, the IDF was tasked with preparing for a possible military intervention in the town of Jaramana, on the outskirts of Damascus, against the backdrop of a suspected al-Sharaa-directed attack. Reports suggested that Israel supplied the Syrian Druze with weapons and military equipment, and the IDF positioned itself to prepare for a possible military intervention. Israeli hospitals admitted dozens of casualties, and a cross-border delegation was invited to advance the prospect of work visas to Israel.
This came on top of Israel’s moves to deny al-Sharaa control of the military weapons kept by deposed Syrian leader Bashar Assad by targeting silos and bases, and moving to take hold of the Syrian Golan Heights, a strategically located highland overlooking Israel. Israel even sent planes to strike near al-Sharaa’s palace in Damascus—a sign to the Syrian ruler that he should rethink his approach toward the Druze.
Israel is one of the only countries in the world with a significant, thriving Druze community of some 150,000 members, who hold key positions in the IDF’s elite units, as well as in industry, academia and technology.
Brig. Gen. (ret.) Hasson Hasson, one of the Druze community’s influential leaders, has served in key combat roles in the IDF’s special operation units and was the military secretary to Israeli President Shimon Peres. “The Druze and the Jewish people have always had a special bond,” he says. “I am part of a proud family whose members across generations swore unwavering loyalty to the Israeli flag and for the defense of Israel. We fought in all of Israel’s wars, and the best of our youth fell in this war as well.”
Hasson estimates that the coup in Syria strengthened the Druzes’ ties with Israel. “We feel most comfortable with Israel,” he says. “We know Julani’s DNA; he’s a terrorist who’s now choosing a charm offensive to get his way. We see his massacre against the Alawites as well. Deepening the bond with Syria’s Druze is a smart policy for Israel.”
Hasson advocated giving more military and intelligence support to the Druze. Indeed, the prospect of a massacre against their fellow Druze in Syria has led to a clear demand for the Israeli government to intervene. In Netanyahu’s statement, he said Israel “acts out of deep commitment to our Druze brothers in Israel, who are bound with family ties and history to their Druze brothers in Syria.”
For Western leaders to flock to Damascus and invite al-Sharaa to European capitals is a clear interest-based move. They cannot cozy up to an Al-Qaeda veteran while at the same time claiming that their public shaming of Israel derives from a pure sense of justice without the stench of hypocrisy.
Trump could be presented with a historic opportunity coming from the Israelis. Had Israel not prevented al-Sharaa from massacring the Druze, it would not only have resulted in a tragedy but would have made it unpalatable for Trump to justify shaking hands with a mass murderer.
Israel, meanwhile, should be lauded for its commitment to the Middle East’s most vulnerable minorities as it, once again, stood as a bulwark of Western values in a region engulfed by intolerance and religious persecution.