Sisi Tells Armed Forces to be on High Alert

Sisi lays a wreath at the memorial of armed forces martyrs in Nasr city. Asharq Al-Awsat
Sisi lays a wreath at the memorial of armed forces martyrs in Nasr city. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Sisi Tells Armed Forces to be on High Alert

Sisi lays a wreath at the memorial of armed forces martyrs in Nasr city. Asharq Al-Awsat
Sisi lays a wreath at the memorial of armed forces martyrs in Nasr city. Asharq Al-Awsat

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has lauded the armed forces on their efforts to confront terrorism and backing stability and security, urging them to “remain on alert and stick to the highest state of combat readiness given the delicate regional situation.”

Sisi chaired the meeting of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on Wednesday in the presence of top military brass.

A statement issued by the council said that the conferees discussed the latest internal security developments amid the tense regional situation.

They also discussed the measures taken by the armed forces in securing the border, eliminating terrorism in North Sinai, and consolidating security and stability in the area.

At the onset of the meeting, Sisi gave a terse statement commemorating the 44th anniversary of Egypt’s October 6 victory over Israel, saluting the Egyptian people for their sacrifices.

"The October victory was not just a military triumph to liberate our lands, but also a victory over despair and frustration to restore dignity and peace," Sisi said. 

"Our current war against terrorism requires unity to protect our beloved homeland's fate and grant a bright future for our children," he stated.

"Together, we are determined to be guided by the spirit of the October War to lead us in victory against the current enemies of life and humanity and for the prosperity and development of our nation," Sisi added.

Earlier, Sisi laid a wreath at the memorial of armed forces martyrs in Nasr city (east of Cairo) and at the graveyards of late presidents Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat and Gamal Abdel Nasser.



Behind Israel's Support for the Druze Lies Goal to Weaken Syria

Israeli Druze look over the border between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria, from its Israeli side at Majdal Shams, May 3, 2025. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
Israeli Druze look over the border between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria, from its Israeli side at Majdal Shams, May 3, 2025. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
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Behind Israel's Support for the Druze Lies Goal to Weaken Syria

Israeli Druze look over the border between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria, from its Israeli side at Majdal Shams, May 3, 2025. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
Israeli Druze look over the border between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria, from its Israeli side at Majdal Shams, May 3, 2025. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon

Israel's stated commitment to defending the Syrian Druze is, by the admission of some of its leaders, consistent with a long-term strategic goal -- the weakening of Syria.
Israel, which has occupied part of Syrian territory since 1967, claimed to be protecting the Druze minority to justify several strikes following recent, bloody inter-communal clashes in Syria.

In the aftermath of one strike near the Presidential Palace in Damascus on May 3, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the bombardment should serve as a "clear message".

"We will not allow forces to be sent south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community," he said.

In March, Israel had threatened to intervene if the new government that toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad "touched the Druze".

However, according to Andreas Krieg, senior lecturer at King's College London, Israel is not motivated by "altruistic concerns" and is "obviously now using (the minority group) as some sort of pretext to justify their military occupation of parts of Syria".

In a speech last month, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich hinted at the government's intentions, saying the war in Gaza against Hamas would end when "Syria is dismantled", among other goals.

The country's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has confirmed that indirect talks with Israel have taken place "to contain the situation". When questioned by AFP, Israeli diplomats declined to comment.

-'Druze autonomy'-

Entangled in a war with Hamas that has spilled over Israel's borders, Netanyahu has insisted the country is in a fight for its survival and that he is determined to "change the Middle East".

In 2015, while a member of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Israel's foreign minister, Gideon Saar, advocated the division of Syria into various ethno-religious entities, envisaging "Druze autonomy in southern Syria".

The plan was reminiscent of the division of Syria imposed between the two world wars by France, then the mandatory power. Paris ultimately had to abandon the scheme under pressure from Syrian nationalists, including among the Druze.

Israel's largest neighbor, Damascus fought in three Arab-Israeli wars -- in 1948-1949, June 1967, and October 1973.

The last war cemented Israel's control over most of the Golan Heights, territory which it conquered from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981.

Following Assad's overthrow, Israel moved its forces into the UN-patrolled demilitarized zone on the Golan and carried out hundreds of strikes against military targets in Syria.

It said its aim was to prevent the transfer of weapons to the new government in Damascus towards which it is openly hostile.

The Druze, followers of a religion that split from Shiite Islam, are mainly found in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

In its official figures, Israel counts around 152,000 Druze, though that includes 24,000 who live in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, of whom fewer than five percent have Israeli citizenship.

Countering Türkiye
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), 126 people were killed during clashes with government security forces last week in predominantly Druze and Christian areas near Damascus and in the Druze stronghold of Suweida in the far south.

After these clashes, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, a Syrian Druze religious leader, called for the deployment of an international protection force and endorsed a community statement asserting that the Druze were "an inalienable part" of Syria.

Within Israel, Druze took part in several demonstrations demanding that the government defend members of their religion in Syria.

While most Druze in the Golan continue to identify as Syrian, the Israeli Druze population has been loyal to the State of Israel since its creation in 1948 and the group is over-represented in the army and police.

"The State of Israel feels indebted to the Druze and their exceptional commitment to the Israeli army," said Efraim Inbar, a researcher at the INSS.

According to Inbar, defending the Druze is also part of the new post-Assad geopolitical landscape in which Israel "is trying to protect the Druze and Kurdish minorities from the Sunni majority and prevent Türkiye from extending its influence to Syria".

In contrast to Israel, Ankara, grappling with its own Kurdish problem, supports the new authorities in Damascus and is keen to prevent the Kurds from consolidating their positions in northeastern Syria, along its border.