Spiritual Leader of Syrian Druze Community States Israel Prevented the Genocide of His People
Syrian Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri credits Israeli airstrikes with halting massacre that killed over 2000, calls for Syrian partition and Israeli-supervised independence
Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of Syria’s Druze community, stated in a January 13 interview with Yedioth Ahronoth that Israel was “the only country in the world that intervened militarily and saved us from genocide as it was happening.” The 60-year-old religious leader, who has led the community since 2012, credited Israeli airstrikes in July 2025 with stopping a massacre in Suwayda province that left over 2,000 people dead, mostly Druze, and displaced approximately 176,000 residents.
The July Massacre and Israeli Intervention
Violence erupted on July 13, 2025, when the kidnapping of a Druze trader triggered clashes between Druze and Bedouin armed groups in Suwayda city and surrounding villages. On July 14-16, Syrian government forces deployed to the area, which escalated the violence. Israel conducted airstrikes against Syrian military convoys on July 15, stating the strikes were intended to protect Druze populations. The attacks on Druze included beheadings, burning victims alive, sexual violence, and kidnappings—atrocities that many Druze compared to Hamas’s October 7th assault on Israel.
Violence erupted on July 13, 2025, when the kidnapping of a Druze trader triggered escalating raids. Between July 13-16, Bedouin militias reinforced by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham border guards stormed Suwayda city.
On July 15, 2025, Israel struck several Syrian tanks and military vehicles approaching Druze areas. The IDF stated the strikes were conducted “to prevent their arrival” at sites where Syrian forces were engaging Druze militias. Al-Hijri told Ynet that these airstrikes “truly stopped the massacre.”
Arab World Silence and Call for Independence
Al-Hijri expressed profound disappointment with regional response. “There is not a single Arab country that supported us,” he stated. “They chose to stand with the murderer, not the victim.” Syria’s foreign ministry condemned Israeli strikes as alleged violations of sovereignty but made no reference to the Druze massacre itself.
The sheikh described Syria’s current government, led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, as “an ISIS-style government, established as a direct continuation of al-Qaeda.” Al-Sharaa founded al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, al-Nusra Front, in 2012 with $50,000 in seed funding from Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was then the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq (later known as Islamic State of Iraq).
Al-Hijri announced a break with Damascus and called for Syria’s partition into separate entities. “We see ourselves as an inseparable part of Israel’s strategic framework,” he declared, proposing Israeli supervision during a transitional phase toward full Druze independence in Suwayda province. He concluded: “Israel is the only responsible and competent actor for future arrangements.”
Israel has treated hundreds of wounded Syrian Druze in its hospitals. Suwayda remains under siege with no entry or exit, severe shortages of food and medicine, and 36 burned villages under government control.