Lebanon’s Druze leader on Tuesday called on Druze residents in Syria’s Sweida to integrate themselves into the state after deadly clashes ensued for the third day in a row.
“The Druze in Sweida should integrate themselves with the state and not try to become isolated,” Walid Joumblatt said in an interview with Al Arabiya.
Although Joumblatt is the most powerful Druze politician in Lebanon, he has often had significant influence among the minority Druze in neighboring Syria.
Israeli airstrikes targeted Syrian government forces for the second day in a row on Tuesday, as they claimed to be protecting the Druze.
Joumblatt warned that Israel is trying to exploit the situation to sow chaos.
“The request for the international protection of Sweida’s Druze residents aims to make them a card in the hands of the Israelis,” Joumblatt said.
As for a solution, he said it could only be a political one under the umbrella of the state. “Weapons in Sweida must be dealt with through a plan with Damascus,” Joumblatt said about the heavy weaponry in possession of the Druze residents of Sweida.
The spiritual leader of Syria’s Druze, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, backtracked on earlier comments welcoming the presence of Syrian government forces in Sweida. He said that the Druze were being subjected to a “war of total extermination.”
Joumblatt criticized al-Hijri’s comments as “regrettable,” adding: “Sweida is an inseparable part of Syria.”
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