ASIA/ISRAEL - Tensions between Druze and Israeli government for medical aid provided to the anti-Assad militiamen

Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides) - Tensions between the Israeli army and the Druze residents of the Golan Heights continue after a group of them attacked an Israeli ambulance on Monday, June 22 which was carrying two militants from Syria, and were injured in the conflict with the Syrian army. According to the reconstruction provided by the local media, some members of the Druze minority attempted to block the vehicle to check for the presence of jihadists inside. One of the two anti-Assad militiamen was killed during the assault against the rescue vehicle.

The murderous attack against the ambulance comes after weeks of demonstrations by the Israeli Druze community, that also serves in the army and also has representatives in parliament. Druze leaders have been accusing the government of Israel of providing medical assistance to the rebels of the jihadists of the al Nusra Front engaged in fighting against the government of Assad in the Syrian region adjacent to the Golan Heights. Allegations that the Israeli government responds by calling the humanitarian duty of taking care of the wounded without distinction of deployment. The recent offensive of jihadist groups in the Syrian area of Quneitra, bordering the Golan Heights occupied by Israel, represents a serious risk for the Druze villages in that part of Syria, such as Hoder. The Druze are considered heretics by the Wahhabi current which feeds the jihadist ideology. Meanwhile, the Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon has announced a severe penalty response to the lynching of the militiaman killed in the attack against the ambulance. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 23/06/2015)