In statements to the official Syrian news agency SANA, the two Sheikhs of the Mind, Youssef Jarbou and Hamoud al-Hanawi, said, "The Israeli aggression on the homeland is rejected in its entirety."
They emphasized that the Druze community, as a fundamental component of the Syrian fabric, views these attacks as an assault on the sovereignty that Syrians defended with their blood.
Despite repeated international warnings, Israel expanded its bombing campaign inside Syria on Friday evening, killing one person and wounding four others, according to a preliminary toll. The Israeli government claimed that its attacks were carried out under the pretext of "protecting the border," despite no violations being recorded on the Syrian side.
Damascus believes that Israel is exploiting internal tensions, particularly in the Damascus countryside and Sweida, to justify its attacks. On Wednesday, Israel carried out airstrikes under the pretext of "protecting members of the Druze community," despite the Syrian government and Druze sheikhs reaching an agreement to end the tensions in those areas on Thursday evening.
Sheikh Jarbou'a stressed that "any foreign intervention, especially from Israel, constitutes a direct threat to the country's unity and sovereignty and further complicates the Syrian situation."
He pointed out the need to support efforts aimed at restoring security to areas that have witnessed unrest, in cooperation with all components.
For his part, Sheikh al-Hanawi stressed that "external and internal attacks that threaten the security and safety of citizens are unacceptable to any Syrian," warning against attempts to ignite internal conflict and sectarian strife.
Al-Hanawi called on the state to intervene immediately to impose security, halt attacks and incitement, and take firm action against "violators who assault citizens and act without official orders."
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Ashrafieh Sahnaya and Jaramana areas, home to a large Druze population in the Damascus countryside, witnessed security tensions following the spread of an audio recording attributed to a Druze member that included "insults" to the Prophet Muhammad.
Security forces were able to restore calm in the two areas on Wednesday, in coordination with local leaders, following civilian and security casualties in attacks launched by "outlaw" armed groups seeking to "create chaos and strife." An agreement was reached with the government on Thursday regarding the two cities.
The Druze are concentrated in the southern province of As-Suwayda, in addition to the neighboring province of Quneitra, Mount Hermon, and some areas in the southern suburbs of Damascus, such as Jaramana and Sahnaya, as well as in a number of villages in Idlib province.
Although the new Syrian administration, headed by Sharaa, has not threatened Israel in any way, Tel Aviv has been launching airstrikes on Syria on an almost daily basis for months, killing civilians and destroying Syrian military sites, vehicles, and ammunition.
Since 1967, Israel has occupied most of the Syrian Golan Heights. Taking advantage of the new situation in the country following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime, it occupied the Syrian buffer zone and declared the collapse of the 1974 disengagement agreement between the two sides.