Israel has dealt a “resounding slap” to members of the Druze community who fought with it in its wars on Gaza, one of the sect’s leaders said yesterday.
“The sect’s army recruits believed they would reap the harvest of their involvement in the war [on Gaza] in order to facilitate their pending files; but the extremist National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has met them with a resounding slap when he imposed internal measures that affected the sect,” the head of the Druze Initiative Committee, Ghalib Sayf, explained.
He explained that the measures approved by Ben-Gvir aim, in their entirety, to internally displace the Palestinian people in Israel, including the Bani Ma’rouf Druze sect.
He explained that seven Druze recruits in the Israeli army were killed during the Gaza war, noting that the army and the sect do not disclose the number of casualties due to their large numbers.
Regarding the Israeli losses in the Gaza war, Sayf said Tel Aviv does not reveal facts to the media, but it is estimated that about 26 per cent of the army’s capabilities had been destroyed in the war on Gaza.
“The state of confusion that we are witnessing in Israeli society is unprecedented, and indicates the size of the huge losses that even exceed 30 per cent, according to our belief,” he added, stressing that the Israeli society has lost confidence and credibility in its government and eagerly await Al- Qassam’s spokesman Abu Obaida’s speeches.
“When Abu Obaida speaks, the [Israelis] empty the streets and ask us to translate, ‘What is he talking about?’,” he said.
He stressed that the heroic steadfastness and great bravery of the people of Gaza and the Palestinian resistance will reflect positively and lead to the failure of the displacement plan targeting the Palestinians inside Israel.
“Israel is carrying out misleading propaganda about the percentage of Druze and Bedouin [army] recruits,” he said, stressing that the numbers are very small.
He stressed that the number of members of the Druze sect who refuse to enlist in the Israeli occupation army is much greater than the number of those who have agreed to enlist.
There are approximately 130,000 Druze living in Israel, mainly in the north of the country.
Sayf has previously revealed that the Israeli authorities refused to grant the family of the Druze officer, Mahmoud Khair Al-Din, who was killed in Gaza in 2021, a building permit, despite him dying for the state.
“Israel does not return the Druze’s favour, but rather meets them with denial of favour and internal displacement,” Sayf said.
Source: Middle East Monitor
