Netanyahu Reveals He Personally Called Syria’s President After Israeli Airstrikes on Damascus To Stop Druze Massacre

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that he spoke to Syria’s President over the phone last year following an Israeli airstrike in Damascus. “I picked up the phone to Sharaa. It was a very short and very sharp conversation. And the slaughter stopped. I will do everything I can to protect our brothers and your brothers,” Mr. Netanyahu said at a Likud conference the Druze community.The prime minister referred to attacks at the time by Syrian regime forces and Bedouins against the Druze minority in southern Syria.The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria documented widespread “violations mainly against the Druze and Bedouin communities, including executions, torture, gender-based violence and the burning of homes” in July last year during the secterian fights in Sweida, where more than 1,700 people were killed. “These incidents, carried out by multiple actors, including Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups, may amount to war crimes or even crimes against humanity, pending further investigation,” the Commission said. Israel intervened on behalf of the Druze minority, a tribe which is also living in both the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights as well as the Galilee. Mr. Netanyahu said the call took place after the IDF bombed the Syrian Defense Ministry HQ in Damascus, which apparently was a warning to stop the attacks against the Druze community. Israeli airstrikes also targeted regime convoys near Sweida at the time. “Israel is committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria due to the deep brotherhood alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel. We are acting to prevent the Syrian regime from harming them and to ensure the demilitarization of the area adjacent to our border with Syria,” Mr. Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said in July last year following reported strikes. Since Mr. Sharaa’s forces ousted Bashar Al-Assad in December 2024, Israel has taken control of parts of Syrian territory across the Golan Heights, arguing that it wouldn’t let “jihadists” fill the vacuum. Israeli forces also control Mount Hermon, a strategically important site that gives a clear view over both Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Mr. Sharaa is yet to comment on Mr. Netanyahu’s revelation which could mark the first time two leaders from Syria and Israel speak directly. But Israeli and Syrian representatives have met several times in the past year to discuss the possibility of reaching an agreement. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Israeli Mossad chief Roman Gofman met in Jordan in August to prevent further escalation following Israeli strikes against an airbase in Syria which Jerusalem claimed was about to be used by Turkish forces. Israel has repeatedly warned that it won’t allow Turkey to establish itself militarily in Syria in a way Jerusalem could view as a threat. Mr. Netanyahu said Israel will “not tolerate a Turkish military presence, which moves to the south, because it threatens us.”His comment came after the IDF attack against the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria’s Idlib province in August. “We conveyed a message. How would I phrase that message to you? ‘Don’t.’ The message got through, but apparently they didn’t hear it well enough, so we made sure they understood it better,” Mr. Netanyahu said at the time.

Netanyahu Reveals He Personally Called Syria’s President After Israeli Airstrikes on Damascus To Stop Druze Massacre

Netanyahu Reveals He Personally Called Syria’s President After Israeli Airstrikes on Damascus To Stop Druze Massacre

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