Israel Threatens Military Invasion of Jaramana, Syria

Damascus (Quds News Network)- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have ordered the military to prepare for an invasion of Jaramana, a city south of Damascus. Netanyahu’s office claimed the move aims to ‘protect the city’s Druze residents’.

In a statement, Netanyahu said he would not allow what he called “the extremist Islamic regime in Syria” to harm the Druze population. He warned that Israel would strike Syrian government forces if they threatened the community. A threat that has been widely seen as a pretext to occupy more Syrian land.

Netanyahu’s threat comes as the Syrian government conducts a security operation in the city following an attack by militants linked to the ousted Assad regime, which left two security officers dead. Syrian security forces have set up checkpoints at the city’s entrances and exits.

The Syrian government has given the armed groups five days to surrender their weapons and remove their barricades. Additional security and military forces have been deployed to the area. Negotiations are underway between local leaders and security officials to manage the handover of weapons and establish security points inside the city.

Rabih Munzer, a member of Jaramana’s local community group, rejected Netanyahu’s claims. “We are Syrian Arabs, and we are committed to our land. We did not ask for protection from anyone,” he told Al Jazeera. He added that the Syrian government would respond to Netanyahu’s threats and would not allow the Druze community to be used for political agendas.

During a military graduation ceremony on Sunday, Netanyahu declared that he would prevent both the Syrian army and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from entering areas south of Damascus. He also vowed to ‘defend’ the Druze population in Sweida from any potential threats.

Recent days have seen protests in southern Syria against Netanyahu’s statements. Demonstrators opposed his calls for disarmament in the region and his demands to keep the newly reorganized Syrian army out.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that the Israeli army would continue to occupy the buffer zone along the Syrian border for an extended period. “We will not allow any force that threatens Israel’s security to establish itself in the area between here and the Damascus-Sweida highway,” Katz said.