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‘The Druze are going nowhere, regardless of cost,’ IDF colonels tell TML
Going up north, you pass through ghost towns until you reach those Druze villages close to the border with Lebanon and Syria, whose inhabitants, despite the war, remained.
The shops are closed, and people prefer not to discuss the accident. Most of them stare silently at the children’s pictures hung on a net on the football pitch while the sound of explosions occurring just a few kilometers away can be heard in the background.
That afternoon, the Iron Dome alert set off at 6:18 p.m., but the rocket landed less than a minute later, giving the children no chance of reaching the nearby shelter.
The Israeli military went to the site to understand what may have caused the accident and found rocket fragments, which have been identified as parts of an Iranian-made Falaq rocket, which has a maximum range of 10 km and is a tool that only Hezbollah possesses.
The IDF estimated that the launch was fired by the Iran-backed militia from the north of the Lebanese town of Chebaa, about 10 km away from Majdal Shams.
Hezbollah’s loose relationship with the truth
As Sarit Zehavi, lieutenant colonel and founder of the Alma Center, explained to The Media Line: “That day, Hezbollah claimed at 7:30 pm responsibility for launching a Falaq 1 rocket towards a military base on the Mount Hermon area. Half an hour later, they denied involvement and started speculating that it was a misfire from the Iron Dome.”
The majority of the Druze in the Golan consider themselves citizens of Syria, where the government in Damascus is a Hezbollah ally. A strike on this community could hurt the group’s standing, including their relationship with the Druze living in the country, which has been supportive of Hezbollah and faithful to Lebanon until now.
“We were expecting this scenario, unfortunately, since Hezbollah has been targeting the north of Israel nonstop since October 8th. The terrorist organization always claimed proudly these attacks, but this time, they were afraid to do so due to the fear that the Lebanese Druze may have turned against them. So, this is the way they blamed Israel,” Zehavi added.
In response to this, many Druze leaders in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel spoke out against what they called an attempt to drive a wedge within the close-knit community.
In Lebanon, Walid Jumblatt, a Druze political leader, said in an interview with Al Jazeera: “It is Israel’s fabrication attempt to blame the “resistance” (Hezbollah), but this is nothing but a lie.”
“It is impossible that this was an Iron Dome misfire because the interceptor explodes in the sky and doesn’t cause a blast like the one we saw. The air defense missiles are designed to disperse regular-shaped fragments in every direction, but there was no sign of this fragmentation,” stated Zehavi.
Abed Kanaaneh, an expert on Lebanon and the Middle East at Moshe Dayan Center, explained as well: “The occupied- Golan Heights were targeted by Hezbollah that day with 100 rockets, so it is plausible that one of them hit the village of Majdal Shams. The Druze were, of course, not the target, but one of these missiles could have missed its shot and caused the catastrophe.”
Arab media didn’t acknowledge Hezbollah’s role in this but promoted its statements of denial.
“Arab people are currently not the ‘biggest fans’ of Israel since they saw that the country has been targeting children in the Gaza Strip in the past months, it was easier for them to say that Israel could have killed these children as well, to have an excuse to invade Lebanon. There is a lot of mistrust towards Israel now, so this is why many believe Hezbollah’s version,” Kanaaneh added.
The Media Line went on July 30 to the site of Majdal Shams to speak with several Druze-Israeli and Jewish-Israeli IDF colonels to understand what the Israeli response could have been.
“The Druze people of this village do not want a retaliation because they want to keep their neutrality in the conflict and fear for their relatives who live in southern Lebanon that may be targeted in Israel’s response. They prefer to pursue peace and stay here regardless of the cost,” Hamada Ghanim, Druze’s former military attaché in Europe and infantry battalion commander on the northern border, mentioned to The Media Line.
He noted, “As Druze, despite our different geographical locations and political stands, we are one community, so of course we prefer diplomacy instead of war.”
The lieutenant colonel and former intelligence officer of the IDF, Gidi Harari, mentioned on the matter: “We wish that a diplomatic solution could solve this war with Hezbollah, but unlike us, they have no duty in front of the international community and won’t opt out to follow the rules, as they did with previous UN resolutions. So, we must shoot hard now and strongly, not only in the Hezbollah southern-controlled part but all of Lebanon, if necessary. Hezbollah wants the Druze to go away from here, but they are not going anywhere.”
“There will be a strong hit against Hezbollah, but always within the limits of the game to prevent a total war. I think both sides won’t be interested in opening a wider conflict, but you never know what could instigate the opposite,” concluded Kanaaneh.
Yesterday, the IDF killed in Beirut Fuad Shukr, one of the top senior commanders of Hezbollah, which, according to the military, was behind the Majdal Shams’ attack. As a response, the militia targeted rockets throughout the evening in the northern part of Israel. Everyone is wondering if this could lead to a total war or would simply stop there.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday put him at odds with the IDF regarding how many haredi the military can absorb in a short amount of time.
Netanyahu said that while he was in favor of increasing haredi integration into the IDF, in practicality, the military needed more time to establish haredi-tailored programs and environments for this to be successful.
The prime minister’s remark comes days after top IDF officials presented a series of highly specific, customized programs for the ultra-Orthodox that are either already open or are “ready to go” as soon as the haredi respond to their military summons. This directly contradicts the prime minister’s words during the briefing.
Netanyahu spoke to the committee in a closed and classified hearing, but portions of what he said were, nevertheless, publicized, including his comments regarding haredi integration into the IDF.
When asked about the issue, Netanyahu said, “We would prefer that anyone who is not studying [in a yeshiva] share the burden [of military service.] But right now, there is a gap between what the army says it can absorb and what it can absorb, so the absorption capacity of the IDF needs to be increased.”
He added that there were intentions to create new frameworks that would allow the haredi to maintain their way of life as well as to respond to operational needs, such as establishing an ultra-Orthodox base along the border with Jordan that would be responsible for defense there.
How to fulfill the IDF’s need for more soldiers
Besides that example, Netanyahu said that the army’s need for more soldiers could be filled by extending the service of mandatory service soldiers as well as calling up a variety of reservists from among the population living in border communities who never responded to their call-ups or were given exemptions.
In contrast to Netanyahu’s statements, seeming to indicate that the IDF cannot absorb a significant increase of haredi men, the military has said repeatedly, dating back to August, that it has been ready to receive an additional 3,000 haredi per year, on top of the approximately 1,800 per year it has already been absorbing.
The announcement in August and the sending of summons to 3,000 members of the ultra-Orthodox community came after months of extensive work and the investment of significant resources to prepare both personnel and bases for a new, major influx.
One new option for service that the IDF has already added for the haredi to make their service more attractive is serving in technical and logistical capacities at hardened aircraft shelters at an air force base section where only men will serve.
Another new option is called the Yoav Track in logistics command centers, which includes fulfilling a wide variety of technical and logistic roles throughout the military, and not just in the Israel Air Force.
Also, though Netanyahu said that the IDF should look into forming a new haredi brigade, the military had already announced last week that on December 26, it would open one, distinct from Netzach Yehuda.
Netzach Yehuda had been the brigade that most of the haredi wanted to join to date. However, it has turned off many of the ultra-orthodox because it has a reputation for being more religious Zionist in nature than haredi.
Additionally, there is a recently established unit of haredi serving at the Ofer detention center, and that program is expected to grow.
Further, a Lt.-Col. with a hassidic Chabad background, who has joined the army. He will be focused on haredi affairs and making sure new inductees are comfortable and are having their needs addressed.
Despite a detailed presentation last week about all of these new service mediums as being already established for haredim, a spokesperson for Netanyahu doubled down on the claim that the IDF was still lacking in its capacity to absorb a major influx of haredi soldiers.
Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
British rocker Paul Weller, Scottish band Primal Scream, and Irish rappers Kneecap will headline a ‘Gig For Gaza’ charity show at London’s O2 Academy Brixton on Dec. 13.
Weller, the former frontman for 1970s punk pioneers The Jam, is curating the show, with all proceeds going to organizations Medical Aid For Palestinians and Gaza Forever, which purportedly provide essential aid – including food, medical supplies, and emergency shelter – for Gazans who have been forced to flee their homes due to the Israel-Hamas War.
“This is an opportunity to enjoy a night of powerful music and make a tangible difference in the lives of people facing unimaginable hardship,” a press release for the show said. The concert will also feature guest speakers and short films.
Weller of Primal Scream performed with Palestinian flag
During a recent tour of the US, Weller, a longtime advocate for leftwing causes, performed with a Palestinian flag draped over his guitar amplifier. Speaking onstage from Glasgow, Scotland, last month, Weller said, “I would like to dedicate that last song to all the tens of thousands of women, children, babies, men, civilians in Palestine and Gaza. I would ask you one question. It’s really simple. There is no grey area. Are you for genocide, or are you against it? It’s a f–-king yes or no question…”
Over the summer, Primal Scream, which formed in the 1980s, gave their support for a jersey design for a Palestinian refugee football team based on their classic record ‘Screamadelica.’
In March, Kneecap withdrew from performing at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, after it was revealed that the US Army was a “super sponsor” of the event as well as defense contractor RTX Corporation.
“It is done in solidarity with the people of Palestine and to highlight the unacceptable deep links the festival has to weapons companies,” the group explained of their decision via Instagram. “This will have a significant financial impact on Kneecap… but it isn’t an iota of hardship when compared with the suffering being inflicted on the people of Gaza.
None of the artists appearing nor promo material for the concert mentioned the 101 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, nor the October 7 massacre that killed over 1,200 Israelis and sparked the current war aimed at toppling Hamas.
David Brinn contributed to this report.
Support for a two-state solution in the Middle East among Arab Americans and Palestinians residing in the West Bank and Gaza is on the rise, according to two recent surveys.
The more recent survey from YouGov and Arab News was published on Tuesday. The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) published the other in September.
A survey of Arab Americans leading up to the US presidential elections found that half of those polled (50%) believed in seeking a two-state solution.
The poll touched upon the future of the conflict and possible resolutions to see its conclusion. Half of Arab-Americans polled believed in seeking a two-state solution with shared governance over Jerusalem. 34% believe that there should be one state where Israelis and Palestinians have equal rights, and 9% stated that they were unsure.A separate poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in September found that support for the concept of the two-state solution among Palestinians continues to rise and has the support of 39% of those polled.
According to PSR, three months prior, support for two states stood at around 32%. Figures were taken from Gaza and the West Bank, at 39% and 38%, respectively.
However, when asked about a separate Palestinian state not linked to the “two-state solution” and when state borders are identified as those of 1967, support rises to 59%, PSR found.
Half of the respondents prefer the two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, while 19% prefer a confederation between the two states of Palestine and Israel. Only 10% prefer establishing a single state with equality between Israelis and Palestinians.
When asked about solving the conflict and reaching statehood, nearly half of Palestinian respondents (48%) said they would choose “armed struggle” as a way to achieve it (50% in the West Bank, 36% in Gaza).
However, a third said they preferred negotiations to end the conflict, and 15% said they would like to see popular peaceful resistance.
International calls for two-states
Recent US administrations and other global actors have called for the end to the ongoing war and to reach a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.
The Biden administration has attempted to broker a hostage and ceasefire deal as a first step. In remarks made ahead of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in September, US President Joe Biden reiterated his support for a two-state solution.
“As we look ahead, we must also address the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank and set the conditions for a better future, including a two-state solution, where the world — where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition and normalized relations with all its neighbors, where Palestinians live in security, dignity, and self-determination in a state of their own,” Biden said.
The survey conducted by Arab News and YouGov was conducted using a sample of 500 Arab Americans across the United States from September 26 to October 1, 2024. The survey data have a margin of error of +/- 5.93%.
The poll conducted by PSR comprised a sample size of 1,200 people, of whom 790 were interviewed face-to-face in the West Bank and 410 in Gaza. The margin of error stood at +/-3.5%.
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