The IDF will either attack the Syrian forces if there is a problem, or if it is just a threat to keep distance from Israel, the 'Post' learned.

Protests erupted across southern Syria in response, with civilians condemning Netanyahu’s remarks as interference in Syrian sovereignty. Demonstrators called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the buffer zone along the Syrian border and rejected any foreign military presence in the region.

Instruction comes as new Syrian government authorities clash with local Druze gunmen in Jaramana, just outside capital The post Netanyahu and Katz direct IDF to ‘prepare to defend’ Syrian Druze suburb of Damascus appeared first on The Times of Israel.

Israel’s defense ministry on Saturday said the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of Damascus, asserting that the minority it has vowed to protect was “under attack” by Syrian forces.

By bnm Gulf bureau bnm Gulf bureau Fresh clashes south of Damascus between local Druze and government forces suggest the community may be laying groundwork for a semi-autonomous or fully independent non-Islamic statelet before Damascus manages to create a new government.

Netanyahu never would have considered extending Israel’s protection to the Syrian Druze. That he is doing so now underscores how much has changed.