TEL AVIV, March 7. /TASS/. Israel is ready to defend itself against any threats coming from Syria, will demilitarize southern regions of that country and ensure protection for the local Druze community, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed.
"We will ensure that southern Syria remains demilitarized and free of threats, and we will protect the local Druze population - anyone who does harm to them will face out response," he wrote on his X page.
According to the minister, Israel will remain in buffer zone in the Golan Heights indefinitely. "Israel will defend itself against any threat from Syria. We will remain in the security zones and on Mount Hermon and will protect [Israeli] settlements in the Golan Heights and galilee," he stressed.
He lambasted Syria’s interim president for violence used against the Alawite minorities in the Latakia governorate. "[Abu Mohammed] al-Julani (Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa - TASS) switched his robe for a suit and presented a moderate face," Katz said. "Now he’s taken off the mask and exposed his true face: A jihadist terrorist of the al-Qaeda school who is committing horrifying acts against a civilian population."
On March 6, clashes broke out in various areas of the Latakia governorate between Syrian security forces and armed groups supporting former Syrian President Bashar Assad. The fiercest fighting took place in Jableh, home to Alawites, representatives of the religious minority, to which the Assad family belongs.
Security forces announced that the military involved in the clashes were linked to Suhayl Hasan, former commander of the Syrian army's special forces. The Al Jazeera TV channel reported that at least 15 Syrian security officers were killed in the confrontations.
The local security authority imposed curfews in Latakia, Tartus, and Homs amid ongoing clashes that have become the most intense since the change in leadership in Syria in December 2024.