Druze residents of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights distanced themselves Tuesday from Israeli threats to retaliate against Lebanon's Hezbollah group for a deadly rocket strike on a Druze Arab town in the territory.
Most of Majdal Shams's around 11,000 residents still identify as Syrian more than half a century after Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria and later annexed it in a move not recognised by the international community.
On a visit to the town on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Israel would deliver a "severe response" to the strike, which killed 12 children aged between 10 and 16 as they played football on Saturday.
Scores of Majdal Shams residents had come out to protest Netanyahu's visit, many donning traditional Druze caps.
The hawkish prime minister arrived hours after hundreds of mourners had joined the funeral procession for one of the children killed, Guevara Ibrahim, 11.
In a statement issued after his visit, Druze lay and religious leaders said the community rejects the "attempt to exploit the name of Majdal Shams as a political platform at the expense of the blood of our children".
Noting that the Druze faith "forbids killing and revenge in any form", the community leaders said "we reject the shedding of even a single drop of blood under the pretext of avenging our children".
The Israeli military has said that the rocket which hit Majdal Shams was fired by Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
An AFP journalist reported that a semblance of normality had returned to Majdal Shams on Tuesday, with shops open and residents walking on the streets.
But the Druze leaders and residents said the whole community was still reeling from the children's deaths.
"The tragedy is immense, the impact is painful and the loss is shared by every household in the Golan," they said.
A paramedic from Majdal Shams, Nabih Abu Saleh, told AFP: "The town is in a state of mourning that may last for a week.
"We can't look into each other's eyes, because tears will flow," he added.
Saleh said his community was "against any Israeli response", and asked: "Who will we strike? Our people in Syria and Lebanon?"
