Druze, Syria and Israel

Dozens of Syrian Druze make a rare visit to Israeli-controlled Golan Heights
Over half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel and the Golan Heights, a rocky plateau seized from Syria by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel’s 1981 annexation of the area is recognized only by the United States, with the rest of the world considering it occupied Syrian territory.
Three buses carrying Druze from Syria cross into Israeli-controlled area of the Golan Heights
The visit comes as Israel says it is supporting the minority in a country now ruled by Islamists. But many Druze have rejected its overtures, and critics accuse Israel of trying to weaken and divide Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad.
Druze religious elders from Syria make historic visit to Israel
JULIS, Israel - A delegation of Druze religious elders from Syria crossed into Israel on Friday for the first such visit in more than 50 years, underscoring Israel's backing for the community amid growing tensions with the new government in Damascus.
Katz says Israel will soon allow Syrian Druze to work in the Golan Heights
Announcement comes as Israeli politicians lambast Syrian transitional government for reported mass killings, urge European states to 'wake up' and stop granting regime legitimacy
First Druze crossing in 50 years as Israel courts allies in Syria
Syrian Druze crossed into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights for the first time in 50 years Early on Friday morning, a group of Syrian men crossed into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights through a UN-monitored buffer zone.
Israel says it will let Syrian Druze workers cross into Golan Heights
The Golan Heights is home to 24,000 Druze, an Arab minority who practice an offshoot of Islam and also live in Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
Syrian Druze cross armistice line for pilgrimage to Israel
Dozens of Syrian Druze clerics crossed the armistice line on the Golan Heights into Israel on Friday for their community's first pilgrimage to a revered shrine since Israel's creation in
Syrian Druze clerics head to Israel for first pilgrimage
A delegation of Syrian Druze clerics headed to Israel on Friday, marking the first such visit since Israel’s creation in 1948. The pilgrimage, organised at the invitation of the Druze community in Israel,
Group of senior Syrian Druze expected to visit Israeli-occupied Golan Heights
A group of around 100 senior figures from Syria's Druze are expected to visit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Friday, members of the community said, in a further sign of Israel's support for the minority group.
In Netanyahu’s new Middle East, Syria could become Israel’s biggest strategic gain
Just hours after Islamist rebels ousted longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ...
Factbox-Syria's Sects: Delicate Mix for Its New Islamist Leaders
- The Christians are split into a number of denominations - some of them tiny communities with ancient roots in pre-Islamic ...
China.org.cn20m
Kazakhstan peacekeepers on Golan Heights complete over 500 missions
ALMATY, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The Kazakh peacekeeping contingent, deployed a year ago as part of the United Nations (UN) forces on the Golan Heights, has completed 557 missions over the past year, ...
Three months since the fall of Assad, is Syria headed towards stability or chaos? Explained
Syria has entered a three-month period of political and military uncertainty following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime ...
Anadolu Agency2d
Israeli army establishes 2 military posts on occupied Syrian Jabal al-Sheikh
The Israeli army has established two military posts on the top of Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh) in the occupied Syrian Golan ...
Israel faces new Syria challenge as it adjusts to new strategy amid regional power struggle for influence
Israel is rethinking its Syria strategy following the country's Islamist takeover in December, rising attacks on minorities ...