Syriaupdated 2h ago2 min read
Syria Rejects Israeli Propaganda, Says Tel Aviv Armed A Lawless Militia In Suwayda
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Syria rejects Israel's use of the Druze in Sweida for elections. Damascus accuses Tel Aviv of arming a lawless militia and fostering unrest.
Damascus rejects Israeli use
Syria rejected exploiting the Druze component in Suwayda, in the south of the country, for “Israeli propaganda and electoral purposes,” accusing Tel Aviv in a statement released yesterday, Thursday, of arming a lawless militia in the province. A Syrian government source said the Druze component in Suwayda “has and will remain an essential, inalienable part of the national fabric of the Syrian Arab Republic,” rejecting “categorically politicizing it or dragging it into Israeli propaganda and elections.”
The Syrian government source said Israel’s “a large Israeli role and a plan targeted civil peace in Suwayda in July of last year” by arming a lawless militia to spark widespread chaos and create a pretext to drag the country into a broad war. The Syrian government source said American mediation halted the Israeli bombardment in July of last year, which had prevented the government’s intervention to end what happened between the Druze and the Bedouins in Suwayda.
Netanyahu phone call claims
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that he spoke by phone with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa during the Suwayda events in July of last year, and he made the claim during a speech he gave before a Druze gathering in Israel. Netanyahu said the conversation was “short and sharp,” claiming that he contributed to stopping what he described as the “massacre,” without providing additional details about the timing of the call or its circumstances.
A Syrian government source said Damascus was working with “partners in the United States of America and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan” to implement the trilateral roadmap to reintegrate Suwayda in accordance with a Syrian national vision that guarantees the rights of the people and security and stability. The Syrian government source urged the international community, the United States, and regional countries to assume their responsibilities and pressure Israel to implement the 1974 agreement and prevent it from intervening in Syria’s internal affairs.
Roadmap, ceasefire, casualties
Syria said it was continuing to work with partners in the United States of America and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to implement the trilateral roadmap to reintegrate Suwayda, and it framed the effort as guaranteeing rights, security, and stability. In September 2025, Syria, Jordan, and the United States approved a joint roadmap to solve the Suwayda crisis and stabilize southern Syria, and the roadmap included steps to rebuild trust, strengthen reconciliations, investigate violations and hold perpetrators accountable, ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, and restore essential services.
The source said that since July 2025, Suwayda has been under a ceasefire, reached after deadly events that killed hundreds and began with waves of violence between Bedouin tribes and Druze groups. On March 17 of this year, the investigating committee for the Suwayda events announced that the total number of casualties across all parties reached 1,760, and the number of injuries reached 2,188.