JULIS, Israel: Seven months after deadly clashes between Syria’s Druze minority and government-backed forces, the spiritual leader of Druze in neighboring Israel said members of the community across the border remained in peril.
“They’re still besieged — completely encircled. They aren’t allowed to bring in any humanitarian aid, including the aid we’re trying to deliver,” Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif told AFP in an interview this week.
The cleric spoke in Julis, a quiet Druze village in northern Israel, where the community has set up an “emergency room” to coordinate aid efforts for Druze in Syria.
Israeli and Druze flags hang on the walls of the room, alongside posters in Hebrew and Arabic calling for an end to the killing of Syrian Druze.
The Druze are followers of an esoteric religion that split from Shiite Islam centuries ago. Its adherents are spread across parts of Syria, Israel, Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
