Reports of Druze civilians being killed are baseless, and have led to unrest among members of the Druse communities on the Golan Heights, whose relatives and friends live just over the border
Despite the rumors that have circulated in recent days of an imminent Druze refugee crisis on Israel’s borders, senior IDF sources serving under the Northern Command issued assurances on Wednesday, saying that they see no signs of that happening in the near future.
Nevertheless, the IDF is prepared for the eventuality of a scenario involving Syrian civilian refugees massing on Israel’s borders to flee brutal jihadist organizations that mercilessly hunt down and murder minorities.
The Syrian-Druze village of Khader, just east of Majdal Shams on the Golan Heights, is loyal to the Assad regime, and the pro-regime military has a base there, as does Hezbollah.
All of the Syrian border area with Israel is under rebel control, with the exception of Khader, which is the last remaining village under Assad regime control. Khader was the launching pad of an April 26 attack, in which Druze Syrian terrorists, sent by Hezbollah, tried to plant bombs on the border with Israel, before being killed in an Israel Air force strike.
Jabhat Al-Nusra is not near Khader, though other rebel organizations are nearby. On Tuesday, the rebels launched on an attack on two Assad military outposts situated some two kilometers outside of Khader, and succeeded in taking them both.
Some residents of the village serving in Assad’s army took part in the fighting to repel the attack. Exchanges of fire died down on Tuesday evening. The chances of rebels, or Jabhat Al-Nusra, taking Khader in the near future appear slim, according to IDF assessments, though combat around the area will likely persist.
Reports of Druze civilians being killed are baseless, and have led to unrest among members of the Druse communities on the Golan Heights, whose relatives and friends live just over the border in Khader.
A wider view of the Syrian civil war leads to an inescapable conclusion; the Syrian regime is continuing to unravel, slowly but surely. Despite Iran’s injection of Shi’ite militias, Hezbollah fighters, large amounts of money, and an unending flow of weapons, President Assad now controls only parts of Damascus, a corridor leading west of the capital, and the Allawite region of Latakia.
The Islamic State continues to grow in both northern and southern Syria, though it is not getting close to the Israeli border right now.
The Syrian regime cannot cope with the Islamic State’s growth, and with its military thinly stretched and shrunken in size after four years of warfare, its ability to continue fighting decreases by the week.
It seems likely that Iran and its allies in Syria understand that their battle to win back Syria is already lost. With Allawites making up just ten percent of the Syrian population, and 80 percent being Sunni, there is no chance of the pro-Iranian Assad regime and Hezbollah taking back significant amounts of land lost to rebels.
Their fight is now limited to the goal of maintaining an Allawite-Hezbollah mini-state that must be on permanent Iranian life support to survive.
The IDF is viewing this historic chapter in Syria’s implosion and bloody war, studying its multiple players, their capabilities, and intentions intently.
It has no interest in being dragged into the complex Syrian civil war, but Israel also cannot remain on the sidelines and witness a massacre right on its border.
In the event of a refugee crisis occurring near Israel, the army would gather those fleeing to a region near the border and offer them military protection, as well as food, water and medical supplies.
The IDF already provides low-key humanitarian assistance to residents of local Syrian villages near Israel.
It is all part of the delicate balance Israel must strike, between moral commitments and its security interest, which is to stay clear of the Syrian bloodbath for as long as possible.