All posts tagged: Druze

Israeli interfaith peace march offers alternative to ultranationalist Jerusalem Day events

Israeli interfaith peace march offers alternative to ultranationalist Jerusalem Day events

JERUSALEM (RNS) — Hundreds of religious leaders and peace activists walked together through the streets of Jerusalem on Monday (May 18) for an interfaith peace march — a 4-year-old event that took on added urgency this year against the backdrop of ongoing war and mounting intolerance in a city venerated by Jews, Muslims and Christians.  The Interfaith March for Human Rights and Peace is one of many initiatives spearheaded by the Interfaith Forum for Human Rights that brings together Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Druze and other activists and a coalition of 30-plus organizations. Singing “We Shall Overcome” and carrying placards with the word “Trust” in Hebrew and Arabic, participants traveled to the march from across Israel, aiming to bridge religious and ethnic gaps at an especially volatile time in the Middle East.    Druze Sheikh Younis Amasha, director of the Forum for Religious Leaders in Israel, urged the marchers to speak “with one voice” to proclaim that “human life is a sacred value and there is no place for hatred, extremism and violence.” He also called …

Scathing UN Report Calls on Syria to Investigate Abuses During Deadly Clashes With Druze Last Year

Scathing UN Report Calls on Syria to Investigate Abuses During Deadly Clashes With Druze Last Year

BEIRUT (AP) — A United Nations inquiry said Friday that there is “no indication” Syria has investigated violations its forces committed during sectarian clashes last summer in which at least 1,700 people died, the vast majority from the Druze religious minority. In a scathing report, the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic urged Syria’s government to investigate the leadership of its security forces that allowed or organized sectarian attacks against the Druze community. The report estimates about 200,000 people were displaced in the violence in Sweida, the heartland of Syria’s Druze community. Among the dead were almost 200 women and children. In mid-July, armed groups affiliated with Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri clashed with local Bedouin clans, spurring intervention by government forces who effectively sided with the Bedouins. Targeted sectarian attacks, first against the religious minority group, and later the Bedouin community, and a series of abductions further soured ties. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has vowed to investigate the events and hold perpetrators on all sides to account, including …

Israel says it hit Syrian army camps in the south after Druze ‘attacked’ | Syria’s War News

Israel says it hit Syrian army camps in the south after Druze ‘attacked’ | Syria’s War News

Israeli air strikes target army camps in response to alleged attacks on the Druze community in Suwayda on Thursday. Published On 20 Mar 202620 Mar 2026 Israel’s military has said it struck Syrian army camps overnight in response to what it claimed were attacks against the Druze community in the south of the country. “This was in response to yesterday’s events, in which Druze civilians were attacked in the [Suwayda] area,” the Israeli military said in a post on Telegram on Friday. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “The [Israeli military] will not allow harm to come to Druze in Syria and will continue to act for their protection.” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor reported on Thursday that fighting broke out between government forces and fighters from local tribes against opposing Druze factions in the western countryside of Suwayda. The fighting began after mortar shells fell on areas under the control of Druze factions. The shelling later hit residential neighbourhoods in the city of Suwayda, sowing panic and fear among residents, …