Syrian Druze. (AP/ Bassem Tellawi).
Israel will donate $2.6 million to the Druze community in Syria for the purchasing of weapons and other items as that community comes under increased threats from Islamic terrorists.
Israel is set to donate $2.6 million to the Druze community in Syria for the purchasing of weapons and other items as that community comes under increased threats from Islamic terrorists, Israeli Druze Member of Knesset Ayoub Kara (Likud) said Monday.
“Israel is not a part of this fighting and doesn’t want to be, because if we say we’re going to be part of the fighting it makes it worse for our people in Syria,” Kara said, the Times of Israel reported. “But me, as a Druze guy, I’m going to do what I can to support my nation. I’m very loyal to my nation.”
According to Kara, the money was mostly raised through donations from the Israeli Druze community as well as Jews, Muslims, and Circassians who want to help protect the embattled Syrian Druze community.
Israel has also asked the United States to increase its aid to the Syrian Druze, and leaders of the Israeli Druze community met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to discuss the situation in Syria.
Last week, members of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra terror group massacred at least 20 Druze in the northern Syrian province of Idlib. Fears continue to grow as the Druze, who were previously protected by the Syrian government, may face greater attacks by Sunni jihadist groups like Jabhat al-Nusra or Islamic State as they continue to make gains in the Syrian civil war.
But Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and other senior Israeli security officials have ruled out any direct Israeli intervention to protect Druze in the Jabal al-Druze region in Syria, fearing that it could entangle Israel in the bloody Syrian conflict.
By: JNS.org