Israel's Defence Ministry said on Sunday it would let Syrian Druze workers enter the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syrian territory, without saying when the government would start issuing permits.
Many Syrian Druze were loyal to deposed President Bashar al-Assad, and a large number of families have relatives living in the Golan Heights © Mena Today
Israel's Defence Ministry said on Sunday it would let Syrian Druze workers enter the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from Syrian territory, without saying when the government would start issuing permits.
The Golan Heights is home to 24,000 Druze, an Arab minority who practice an offshoot of Islam and also live in Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
Israel captured most of the strategic plateau from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981. The U.S. views it as Israeli territory, but most countries classify it as occupied.
Many Syrian Druze were loyal to deposed President Bashar al-Assad, and a large number of families have relatives living in the Golan Heights.
The Israeli government has said Syria's new leadership is a threat to Israel and has pledged to help protect minorities in Syria, including the Druze.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on Syria's strategic weapons stockpiles and military infrastructure, saying such operations seek to prevent them from being used by rebel groups that drove Assad from power, some of which grew from movements linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State.
Reporting by Emily Rose
The U.S. military will consolidate its presence in Syria over the coming weeks and months in a move that could reduce the number of troops it has in the country by half, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Friday.
Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. was for now unwilling to support such a move, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.
yrian Air, the state-owned airline of Syria, has announced the resumption of its direct flights to Dubai and Sharjah, marking a significant development in the gradual normalization of ties between Syria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.