Posted on 07/15/25
| News Source: Arutz-7
Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli stated that Israel cannot "stand by" in the face of the killings carried out by the new Syrian regime and called for the elimination of Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara.
"We must not stand idly by in the face of the Islamist-Nazi terror regime of Al-Qaeda in a suit and tie," Chikli wrote on X in a post in which he shared two videos of the attacks on minorities in Syria.
"Anyone who thinks Ahmad al-Sharaa is a legitimate leader is gravely mistaken — he is a terrorist, a barbaric murderer who should be eliminated without delay," Chikli stated.
"We saw the horrific massacre of the Alawites, met with deafening silence from European leaders, and now we are witnessing the slaughter and humiliation of the Druze. The terror regime in Syria must be fought," he said.
Chikli's comments come as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to immediately strike Syrian regime forces and weaponry that had entered the Suwayda region in response to the Syrian regime’s attacks on Druze communities in that region.
Syrian regime forces, led by President Al-Julani, took control Tuesday morning of the predominantly Druze city of As-Suwayda in southern Syria.
According to local reports, regime troops opened indiscriminate fire on civilians in the streets, resulting in an unknown number of deaths and injuries. Footage circulating on social media appears to show captured Druze individuals being abused by regime forces.
Residents have described widespread home raids, destruction, and the deployment of tanks and armored vehicles throughout the city center.
In response to the assault, Hikmat al-Hijri, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Syria, released a video urging Druze to resist what he described as a "genocide taking place on Jabal al-Druze." He stated that a previous agreement—imposed by Damascus and international actors to prevent bloodshed—had been violated by Syrian security forces, who attacked civilians despite Druze compliance with the deal.
"This is a day to choose: either we stand together as Syrians and reject this humiliation, or we accept decades more of it," al-Hijri said. He called on Druze "everywhere in the world" to support the people of Suwayda "by any means possible."
The latest events mark a significant escalation in southern Syria, which has been volatile since July 11, when a Druze merchant was kidnapped. That incident sparked a cycle of retaliatory abductions, armed clashes, and increasing casualties as the Syrian military pushed into Druze areas and met strong resistance.
Druze leaders in Suwayda have declared a state of general mobilization, calling the current conflict “a war for our existence.” The estimated death toll from the recent fighting is between 60 and 100 people, most of them Druze.