Israel and SDF providing financial and military support to Syrian Druze militias: report
Israeli money and arms are backing Druze militias in Suweida, deepening divisions in southern Syria and fuelling separatist ambitions after Assad’s fall
Druze militias in Syria are allegedly receiving material and financial support from Israel [Getty]
Druze militias in Suwieda province are receiving financial support from Israel, officials have said, one of the flashpoint areas in Syria since Assad’s fall in December 2024.
Suweida’s so-called Military Council, a militia believed to be close to Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, the Syrian Druze figurehead in Suweida province, has allegedly received financial support from Israel via the Syrian Democratic Forces, Israeli officials told The Washington Post.
Israel linked with 20 men with military experience in Suweida to help form the militia, including Tareq Al-Shoufi, a former Syrian regime officer who defected in 2015, and formed the Military Council.
It provided Shoufi with $24,000 via the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to form the new Druze armed force while Assad was still in power, with a later payment allegedly made when the regime fell, with claims that Druze fighters are being trained and armed by the Kurdish separatist group in northern Syria.
The New Arab sat with Al-Shoufi in April and asked the commander about the Military Council’s links to Israel and the SDF, amid rumours at the time, but the group is part of a push for semi-independence for Suweida and strongly opposed to Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s government.
The Washington Post report appears to be further proof of collaboration between Israel and some Druze factions, as well as Israel’s deliberate interference in domestic Syrian politics, something that even the Trump administration views as destabilising Syria and the region.
The fall of the Assad regime offered Suweida separatists a chance to pursue their ambitions for semi-independence for the province, under the tutelage of Israel, which had been carving out more territory in southern Syria since Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s forces took Damascus in December 2024.
Hijiri, whom The New Arab also met in April, became a figurehead for this movement, with clashes between Druze militias and armed Bedouins linked to the Syrian government resulting in massacres of civilians and surrendered fighters.
The Druze militias were provided weapons by Israel and the SDF, including anti-tank missiles and other high-tech military equipment, transforming them from bands of armed men into a formidable force that threatened the Syrian government’s authority in the south.
At the same time, the anti-Sharaa Druze militias were supported by the Israeli air force, with strikes on government positions in Damascus and in southern Syria.
Israel also provided other logistical support to the Suweida villages in a buffer zone, further undermining the government’s authority in the south and emboldening Hijri, who is becoming a de facto leader for Druze in the south.
Allied militias have also been engaged in tensions and clashes with other Druze groups in Suweida, who are more receptive to Sharaa or oppose Hijri.
Druze activists and opponents have been assassinated or died in detention over the past months.