Jerusalem, 15 July, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Druze demonstrators blocked roads and burned tires across northern Israel on Tuesday, protesting deadly clashes in southern Syria between Druze militias and local Bedouin tribes. The unrest follows several days of intense fighting in and around the Syrian city of Sweida, which has a large Druze population and where nearly 100 people have reportedly been killed.
Protesters gathered at key junctions, including Shfaram, Rama, and near Elyakim, demanding stronger Israeli and international intervention on behalf of their Syrian coreligionists. “We cannot stand by while our brothers are being slaughtered,” one demonstrator was quoted as saying in Arabic-language media. “Israel must act, and the world must not be silent.”
Traffic disruptions were reported along major routes, including Route 6, Highway 70, and Highway 85, where demonstrators intermittently blocked lanes. Police confirmed they were on the scene “to maintain public order and guide drivers to alternate routes.”
The demonstrations came hours after the Israel Defense Forces said it had struck Syrian military vehicles approaching Sweida. According to the IDF, the airstrikes targeted armored personnel carriers, tanks, and roads used by Syrian government forces. “Under the direction of the political echelon, the IDF attacked regime forces moving toward Sweida to prevent harm to the Druze population,” said the military’s spokesperson.
An Israeli security source told The Press Service of Israel, “This is an especially high scale of attacks against regime forces in the Druze Mountains. The State of Israel sees this as a test for implementing its policy of demilitarizing southern Syria and its commitment to the Druze.”
In the last three days, a reported 100 people were killed in ethnic violence between local Druze and Bedouins.
Around noon, Syrian Defense Minister Marahf Abu Kasra announced a ceasefire following what he said was an agreement reached between the government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and local Druze and Bedouin leaders. It wasn’t immediately clear if that ceasefire would be implemented.
On Monday, Israeli aircraft struck several Syrian tanks in that area.
Israel’s Druze community of 152,000 has been calling on the government to take stronger measures to protect their co-religionists in southern Syria. Around 40,000 Druze live in the southern Syrian provinces of Quneitra, Da’ara and Sweida under Israeli protection. Netanyahu has called for the demilitarization of southern Syria.
In May, the Israeli army set up a field hospital to treat civilians near the Syrian village of Hader.
Israel sent forces into the 235 sq km buffer zone to prevent Syrian rebels from approaching the border when the regime of Bashar Assad collapsed in December. Israel also launched waves of airstrikes on Syrian army assets and Iranian stockpiles to prevent them from falling into the hands of radical Islamists.
While Israeli forces have briefly entered the buffer zone in the past, December’s takeover marked the first time since its establishment that the IDF set up positions there. The demilitarized zone was established with a ceasefire in 1974 that ended the Yom Kippur War.
Israel considers the 1974 ceasefire agreement void until order is restored in Syria.
