Druze attack Israeli ambulance carrying wounded Syrians

Druze attack Israeli ambulance carrying wounded Syrians
Druze leadership condemned mob attack on an Israeli military ambulance carrying wounded Syrians through the Golan Heights and asked for restraint, amid tensions with Syrian rebel groups in southern Syria.
3 min read
23 June, 2015
Druze in Israeli-occupied Golan accuse Israel of aiding "terrorists" in Syria (AFP)

Two Syrian men were being taken to hospital late Monday when dozens of Druze in the town of Majdal Shams stoned their ambulance, forcing it to stop and dragging the wounded men from the vehicle.

The mob then beat one of the men, who was later pronounced dead, and seriously wounded the other. An Israeli soldier and another officer with the ambulance were also lightly wounded.

This comes as members of the Druze minority in Israel have become deeply concerned over the fate of their brethren in Syria after recent attacks targeting them.

Officials say there are 110,000 Druze in northern Israel and another 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan. Members of the minority are followers of a secretive offshoot of Islam.

Syrian Druze are traditional allies of President Bashar al-Assad. The rioters on Monday likely believed the men in the ambulance were rebels, precisely fighters belonging to al-Qaeda's affiliate al-Nusra Front.

Al-Nusra is accused of carrying out a massacre against the Druze earlier this month. Druze in occupied Golan are disenchanted with what they see as Israeli support to extremist rebel groups that threaten to kill members of their faith in Syria.

Israel denied the wounded men were rebel fighters and called them civilians. "The claim we're helping Al-Nusra Front is incorrect," military spokesman Brigadier General Moti Almoz told army radio.

The Jewish state says it is not involved in the internal Syrian fighting, but could not rule out the possibility that some of the wounded men who receive medical care are rebels.

Druze leadership condemns attack

Druze leaders and influential figures inside Israel met on Tuesday to discuss the incident. In a statement released after the meeting, the Druze spiritual leader, Sheikh Mouwafak Tarif, condemned the attack on the military ambulance that carried wounded Syrians through the Golan Heights.

Sheikh Tarif said that their values, traditions, and basic humanitarian principles, rejects such attacks. He continued: "we reject all excuses given to such acts, and we reject the use of violence and we will take religious and social steps to deter violent acts in this critical time".

The statement highlighted the counter-productive nature of such acts, and warned the Druze youth not to listen to hate speech that threatens to divide the community.

However, pro-regime media outlets, mainly inside Syria, praised the attack as being a 'heroic' act against "terrorists". Syria’s official news agency SANA stated the two men being transported on Monday were "terrorists from Al-Nusra Front."

Israel vows crackdown

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incident "very serious" and vowed those behind the attack would be held to account.

"We will not let anyone take the law into their hands and prevent the army from carrying out its mission," he said in a statement, appealing for leaders in the Druze community to maintain calm. 

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon pledged Tuesday to track down Druze rioters in the occupied Golan Heights responsible for the incident.

Yaalon labelled Monday's violence a "lynching" and vowed action. "We won't be able to ignore it, and law enforcement authorities will deal with it heavy-handedly," he said in a statement.