Israel is the primary beneficiary of what’s happening in Suwayda. It is using the security vacuum to incite divisions and push some communities toward seeking protection,’ Sheikh Sami Abil-Mona tells

The Druze religious sect, enmeshed in an outbreak of tit-for-tat violence in Syria, began roughly 1,000 years ago as an offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel,

Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke after Israel said it would destroy government forces it accused of attacking Druze in Syria.

As Israel claimed to target Syria in defence of the Druze minority, powerful Druze voices have pushed back. Sheikh Sami Abi al-Muna, Lebanon's spiritual Druze leader, called Israel's "protection" both harmful to Druze history.

Syria's Druze have reached a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian government in Sweida that will take immediate effect, Druze religious leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou said in a video broadcast by state media on Wednesday.

Syria should not be allowed back into the international community unless it is able to uphold protections for the Druze and its other minority groups, Israel has said.

Anupam Kher recalls the last advice his father gave him 20 minutes before his death: ‘That was phenomenal’ UAE: From Bugatti Veyron to Rolls-Royce, why Dubai Police uses world’s fastest, most luxurious supercars

The United States said it did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria and had made clear its displeasure, while Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture his country.

Under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure, Ahmed al-Sharaa pulled troops from Syria's Druze heartland -- a move that exposes the interim leader's weakness just as he sought to assert control.Since seizing office in December after ousting longtime autocrat Bashar al-Assad,