PSP to Sheikh Tarif: Are your choices made for Druze benefit?
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The Progressive Socialist Party responded to Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif’s criticism of Walid Jumblatt, defending his role in protecting the Druze community in the region and his calls for accountability over the Sweida massacres.
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Former chief of Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblatt (Lebanon's NNA)
The Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in Lebanon issued a statement on Saturday responding to remarks made by Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif, leader of the Druze community in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948.
In a recent interview, Sheikh Tarif accused former PSP leader Walid Jumblatt of “wronging the Druze community, standing idly by, and condemning the community” in relation to the events in Sweida, Syria.
PSP defends Jumblatt’s record
In its response, the PSP questioned Sheikh Tarif’s understanding of “the historical and current role played by Jumblatt in protecting the dignity of the Bani Maarouf (the Druze community) within their Arab and Islamic identity, whether in Lebanon or Syria.”
The statement stressed that Jumblatt had condemned the massacres committed against the people of Sweida and had called for an international investigation and severe punishment for the perpetrators. It reaffirmed Jumblatt’s long-standing role in supporting the Druze both in Lebanon and across the region.
The PSP statement addressed Sheikh Tarif directly, asking whether the choices he calls for would endanger Druze communities across Syria, Lebanon, and the wider region.
“Do your choices, which you call on the Druze of Syria, Lebanon, and the entire region to adopt, not expose them to existential dangers and embarrassment in their relations with their Arab and Islamic surroundings, which is their historical affiliation?” the statement asked.
It further questioned: “What are the strategic choices you are calling on the Druze to make in the region, and what is their harm and danger to them?”
On Druze in occupied territories and Golan Heights
Regarding the Druze living under the occupation, the PSP asked whether the Druze of Palestine had been treated fairly by the Israeli occupation. The statement pointed to the 2018 Nationality Law as clear evidence of discrimination and the erosion of the illusion of citizenship.
The PSP also criticized Sheikh Tarif’s role in organizing religious visits for Syrian Druze sheikhs to “Israel,” saying such acts had harmed the relationship between the Druze of Syria and their compatriots.
It asked whether “Israel” truly protected Druze in the occupied Golan Heights through policies of settlement expansion, land confiscation, and the erasure of their identity.
Jumblatt’s calls for accountability and dialogue in Syria
The PSP reiterated that Walid Jumblatt has consistently called on the Syrian government to hold military and security officials accountable for atrocities in Sweida. According to the statement, Jumblatt continues to push for an international investigation, immediate relief for the province, the release of kidnapped civilians, and compensation for victims.
In addition, Jumblatt has urged the resumption of political dialogue and reconciliation between the Druze and their neighbors to prevent future tragedies and secure a unified and just Syrian state.
