H.A. Hazony
H.A. Hazony

@HAHazony

12 Tweets 309 reads Dec 13, 2024
The Druze of southern Syria have publicly declared their desire to secede from Syria and be annexed to Israel.
Based on topography this is what the annexation would look like.
The IDF has already taken over the DMZ in yellow and moved into some of the Druze towns.
Thread. x.com
For a recap on who the Druze are, see my thread from earlier this year:
x.com
A video has been released of the representatives of the Druze villages gathering on the border with Israel saying:
"Where is our fate? Israel!"
"We ask to be annexed to the Israeli Golan to preserve our dignity." x.com
While it is unclear from the video who these people represent other than the town of Hader (they mention the "surrounding area")
I have marked the towns in the Mt. Hermon region with a majority Druze population (thanks to a map made by @BenTzionMacales) x.com
This deceleration comes just days after @IsraelWarRoom reported that Netanyahu met with the leader of the Druze community in Israel (who have close kinship ties with the Syrian Druze).
Netanyahu emphasized the need for security for the Syrian Druze. x.com
From a broader perspective, this would bring Israel's border just 25 km (15.5 miles) from Damascus.
The Druze live in a mountainous region, so it is conceivable to see their territory as a defensible front line in the face of whatever regime comes to power in Syria. x.com
An additional video floating about, which I found through @visegrad24, purports to be of a resident of the city of Suwayda.
He calls Netanyahu a hero and calls on Druze politicians to work towards annexation into Israel. x.com
The Druze population in Suwayda is greater, but as you see on the map, they aren't contiguous to Israel, and IDF troops are not currently anywhere near there.
The area is referred to as "Druze Mountain"
We need to see more action before projecting any kind of annexation there. x.com
These two regions are the entire Druze population in Syria.
If they were to be annexed to Israel, a majority of the world's Druze would be living in Israel.
The State of Israel would become the de facto Druze homeland 70 some years after doing the same for the Jewish people. x.com
The Druze historically supported Assad and are technically not Muslim.
They have good reason to be very afraid of the Islamist rebels taking over Damascus.
Annexing to Israel is a drastic measure, one they would only take if they feared possible genocide.
As I wrote in my thread on Turkey's actions in Syria, so far the Turks have been brutally cracking down on the Kurds in northern Syria. The Druze don't want to be next:
x.com
To understand Israeli interests in Syria, see my thread here.
In short, Israel wants as much space between itself and Jihadi forces:
x.com

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