Israel reportedly started shipping weapons to the Syrian Druze just days after Syria’s Iran-backed President Bashar al-Assad was ousted a year ago.

The weapons supply peaked in late April, and ebbed starting in August, as Israel grew concerned about infighting among the Syrian Druze, according to a Washington Post report, which cited over two dozen anonymous current and former Israeli, Western and Arab officials, along with Druze militia chiefs.

The supply also came as Israel sought negotiations for a security agreement with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa — head of the jihadi group that ousted Assad — following US President Donald Trump’s first meeting with Sharaa in May, according to the Post.

US officials have privately cautioned Israel against undermining the new Syrian regime, arguing that Sharaa’s opposition to Iran presents a rare opportunity for long-sought cooperation between Jerusalem and Damascus.

Israel continues to supply the Syrian Druze with defensive military equipment, such as body armor, and also provides about 3,000 Syrian Druze fighters with monthly salaries ranging from $100 to $200, which points to an Israeli desire to see the Druze serve as a counterweight to Sharaa’s regime, the Post said.

Israel remains wary of Sharaa due to his jihadist past, and took over the Syrian side of the two countries’ demilitarized buffer zone soon after Assad’s downfall, citing fear that the area would fall into the wrong hands.

An Israeli government official speaking on condition of anonymity told the Post that following the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, “Israel is determined to defend our communities on........

© The Times of Israel