'Israel' revokes Syrian workers' entry to Golan Heights: Israeli media
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No official reason has been provided for the last-minute change.
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Buses carrying members of the Syrian Druze community are welcomed by Druze clerics at the border with Syria, as seen from the village of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Friday, March 14, 2025 (AP)
"Israel’s" political leadership has abruptly canceled the entry of Syrian Druze workers, reversing a previously approved decision, Kan news reported.
No official reason has been provided for the last-minute change.
The Druze, an Arab minority, reside across Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and the Golan Heights, maintaining strong kinship ties across borders. They make up around three percent of Syria’s population, primarily concentrated in the southern province of Sweida.
"Israel" has intensified its outreach to Syria’s Druze community following the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad by Islamist-led groups in December, ending more than 13 years of war.
Since then, Israeli forces have entered the UN-patrolled buffer zone along the Golan Heights armistice line, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported regular Israeli incursions deeper into southern Syria.
Last month, Israeli Security Minister Israel Katz announced that "Israel" would permit Syrian Druze to work in the Golan Heights, which "Israel" occupied from Syria in the 1967 war, months after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.
In mid-March, a delegation of Druze religious elders from Syria crossed into "Israel" for the first time in over 50 years.
Around 100 Druze sheikhs from villages on the slopes of Mount Hermon in Syria, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, visited religious shrines, including the site believed to be the tomb of Prophet Shuayb in the Lower al-Jalil, west of Tabarayya.
Katz declared that "Israel" would not permit Syria’s new rulers "to harm the Druze," following a deadly clash between government-affiliated forces and Druze fighters in the Damascus suburbs.
However, Druze leaders dismissed Katz’s warning, reaffirming their commitment to a unified Syria. Meanwhile, Druze representatives have been negotiating with Syria’s new authorities on an agreement that would see their armed groups incorporated into the national army.
In early March, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer stated that 10,000 humanitarian aid packages had been delivered to "the Druze community in battle areas of Syria" in recent weeks.
"Israel has a bold alliance with our Druze brothers and sisters," he claimed.
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