Druze

In first, Israel’s Netanyahu says he held call with Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa

It is the first publicly disclosed contact between the leaders of Israel and Syria, which lack formal relations and have fought several wars. Sharaa’s government began US-mediated talks with Israel in 2025.

A member of Syria's security forces stands guard outside a former army base near the city of Quneitra in southern Syria, on the edge of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Sept. 21, 2025.

Feature

Syria Golan detentions fuel fury at Israeli forces, doubts in new government

Israeli forces have detained hundreds of Syrians and continue to conduct strikes and incursions in Quneitra, fueling resentment among residents who say Damascus has failed to protect them.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

An aerial view shows port of the western Syrian port city of Latakia, on Dec. 18, 2024.

Analysis

Can a UAE-backed Syria-Iraq corridor become Gulf's next trade route?

On June 26, Emirati and Syrian officials discussed plans for a logistics corridor connecting Syrian ports to Gulf markets via Iraq.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Volunteers of the Druze-led National Guard manage traffic at a checkpoint, Suwayda, Syria, Jan. 22, 2026.

Clashes between Druze fighters, Syrian forces raise fears of renewed violence

The episodes in Druze-majority Suwayda escalated amid kidnappings, various disputes, and absent movement on integrating Druze into state institutions.

Latest News

Why Israel's looking to Kurds to make gains against Iran regime

Kurdish Peshmerga fighters affiliated with PAK train on Jan. 18, 2026, near Erbil, Iraq.

What Israel stands to lose in Syria-SDF agreement

Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images

Curfew extended in Syria’s Homs following Bedouin-Alawite clashes: What to know

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As Trump hosts Sharaa, Israel cautiously seeks Syria security deal

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: President of Syria Ahmed al-Shara arrives for the 80th session of the UN’s General Assembly (UNGA) at UN Headquarters on September 23, 2025 in New York City. This year’s theme for the annual global meeting is:“Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.” Gaza and Ukraine are just two of the global emergencies that world leaders will look to address. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

A woman walks past a mural depicting Lebanese Druze politician Walid Jumblatt (bottom, R) and Syrian Druze nationalist leader Sultan al-Atrash, in the predominantly Druze city of Beit Jann on November 16, 2023. Around 150,000 Druze, Arab adherents of an esoteric offshoot of Shiite Islam, live in Israel. Most identify as Israelis and the men -- not women -- are conscripted into the military, many serving in combat units. The Druze community is concentrated in 16 villages in northern Israel, among them Beit J

Lebanon's Druze mobilize in solidarity with Syria's Suwayda: What to know

Druze leaders in Lebanon are voicing their growing concerns over the deadly violence unfolding in Suwayda while members of the community are trying to cross the border into Syria.

Two armed men gesture as a car burns near the site of clashes between Druze and Bedouin factions on July 14, 2025 in Suwayda, Syria.

Live Updates

Syria says army withdrawing from Suwayda after deadly clashes with Druze

The withdrawal follows reportedly an understanding between Damascus and local Druze leaders to end the fighting after days of deadly violence.

Syrian security forces stand with their guns atop a truck on July 15, 2025, near Suwayda, Syria.

Analysis

Is Sharaa’s Druze crackdown a warning to Syria’s Kurds?

Syrian Kurds, who control a quarter of Syria's territory in the north and the northeast, are closely watching events unfold in Suwayda.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Members of Syria's security forces drive through the predominantly Druze city of Suwayda on July 15, 2025, following Israeli bombardment amid clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters.

Analysis

Will Israel's airstrikes in Druze city derail Syria normalization talks?

The violent clashes in Syria and subsequent Israeli attack have pushed a potential bilateral security agreement further off.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

A member of Syria's security forces stands under a sign in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida (Suwayda), on July 15, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters.

Syria announces ceasefire in Druze city of Suwayda: What to know

The ceasefire followed deadly clashes between the Druze of Suwayda and Bedouin tribes that left over 100 people dead.

Druze men demonstrate in solidarity with the Syrian Druze community near the border barrier in the village of Majdal Shams, Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, April 30, 2025.

Live Updates

Syria: Nearly 100 killed in fighting between Druze, Sunni tribes

Intervention by Syrian security forces to contain the escalation in Druze-majority Suwayda province has been met with resistance from the local Druze community.

STEPHANIE LECOCQ/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Will Israel seize opportunity for rapprochement with Syria?

Signs indicate that Israel might have a rare opportunity to hold productive dialogue with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and advance a security deal with Damascus.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa upon arriving for a meeting at the Elysee presidential palace, Paris, May 7, 2025.

Exclusive

Skepticism shrouds Syria-Israel indirect talks with bets on Sharaa

Sources told Al-Monitor that shortly after Sharaa visited the UAE last month, an unofficial meeting between Syrian and Israeli delegations took place at an Abu Dhabi villa owned by an Emirati government official.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Syrian government forces as conflicts intensify between them and the Druze in Sahnaya, April 30, 2025.

Analysis

‘We can reach him’: Israel strikes Damascus in warning to Sharaa over Druze attacks

An Israeli airstrike near the presidential palace in Damascus was intended to send President Ahmed al-Sharaa a message after armed attacks against Syria's Druze community.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

An Israeli soldier checks a Merkava battle tank deployed at a position in the Israel-annexed Golan Heights along the border with southern Syria on March 25, 2025. Israel's military said it carried out a second strike in Syria on March 25, in response to incoming fire from across the demarcation line, hours after Syrian authorities reported that at least five people had been killed as a result of Israeli shelling. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Are Lebanon, Syria ripe for peace with Israel or on cusp of more escalation?

While some Israeli leaders hope for normalized ties with Lebanon and Syria, others warn that the uncertainty of the current situation could become permanent or deteriorate.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaks during a briefing on US President Donald Trump's Mideast peace plan on February 11, 2020 in New York. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told the UN Security Council that the world should reject President Donald Trump's Middle East plan, which he said would limit Palestinian sovereignty in a "Swiss cheese" deal. "We reject the Israeli-American plan," which "throws into question the legitimate rights of the Palestinians," Abbas said, brandishing a large map of

Interview

In break with Netanyahu, Olmert urges Israel to recognize Syria’s Sharaa, open dialogue

Former Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert believes Israel should recognize the legitimacy of the Syrian interim administration, telling Al-Monitor in an interview that he believes that the two countries should open dialogue.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoan (3-R) greets Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (2-L) next to Bolivia's President Luis Arce (L) and Argentina's President Javier Milei (R) before the group photo at the end of the first session of the G20 Leaders' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 18, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As Iran’s role recedes, Israel alarmed by Turkey-Syria-Egypt alignment

Could a new triple axis replace the yearslong threat against Israel of Iran and its proxies?

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense