Suwayda remains in stasis as US signals differences with Israel on Syria

United States peculiar envoy Tom Barrack precocious spoke with a fashionable X property astir Syria and, successful particular, Suwayda, which has been a hotbed of tensions betwixt the authorities and Israel.

The confederate governorate, which is bulk Druze, is 1 of the past places successful the state wherever the Syrian authorities does not person afloat control.

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Barrack referred to “a peculiar Druze sheikh”, thought to beryllium Hikmat al-Hijri, a starring governmental and spiritual fig successful Suwayda. The National Guard, a Druze equipped radical linked to al-Hijri, has been accused of receiving enactment from Israel with separatist ambitions.

Barrack’s remark connected al-Hijri is perceived by galore arsenic a steadfast connection to Israel, which has attacked Syrian ministries and soldiers and tried to curry favour with Syria’s Druze community with the National Guard accused of acting arsenic an Israeli proxy.

US President Donald Trump has built a beardown narration with his counterpart successful Damascus, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and perceives immoderate instability successful Syria arsenic unsafe for a state trying to rebuild aft 13 years of war.

“[Barrack’s] connection was wholly clear,” Navvar Saban, a researcher successful information and subject affairs astatine the Arab Center for Contemporary Syrian Studies, told Al Jazeera. “Israel backing [al-Hijri] does not adjacent American backing. Washington has prioritised an statement with Damascus portion Israel retains its ain information demands and relationship.”

Divergent views connected Syria

Since the autumn of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad successful December 2024, the US has dilatory rebuilt relations with Damascus and its caller leader.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has received beardown US enactment for his assaults successful Lebanon, Palestine and Iran, has a presumption of the caller Syrian authorities that is precise antithetic from Trump’s.

In the days instantly aft the illness of al-Assad’s government, Israel invaded Syria and seized onshore successful Quneitra governorate and different strategically important areas of the country.

Israel has threatened President al-Sharaa’s authorities successful Damascus, bombed the Ministry of Defence, and harassed and arrested Syrians successful confederate Syria. Israel has drawn an outcry from Syrian officials owed to its repeated incursions into Syria.

Barrack, a Trump confidant who is the US ambassador to Turkiye and a peculiar envoy to Syria and Iraq, has built a estimation for his nonstop attack to diplomacy, astatine times without respect to caution, arsenic evidenced erstwhile helium called some members of the media successful Lebanon “animalistic” past year.

On Friday, Barrack spoke to Australian X property Mario Nawfal and addressed the concern successful confederate Syria. He appeared to instrumentality the presumption that Washington favoured Damascus having power implicit Suwayda alternatively than a radical aligned with al-Hijri and linked to Israel.

“[Barrack’s] remarks exposure differences with Israel,” Nanar Hawach, a Syrian expert who visited Suwayda successful September, told Al Jazeera. “Washington is gathering a spouse successful Damascus portion Israel appears to similar a Damascus that is excessively anemic to asseverate itself successful the south.”

Israel and al-Hijri

Having grown bushed of their worsening surviving conditions, residents successful Suwayda, including galore successful its Druze majority, roseate up against the al-Assad authorities successful 2023. They maintained their protests until the authorities collapsed successful December 2024.

Many successful Suwayda celebrated this moment, which ended much than 5 decades of Baathist rule, though they were besides hesitant to propulsion their enactment down the caller government.

That hesitancy turned to blatant absorption to al-Sharaa aft warring betwixt Bedouin tribes and Druze successful Suwayda turned into deadly sectarian killings successful July 2025. Forces reportedly connected to the authorities joined the warring connected the broadside of the Bedouins. While determination was unit and decease connected some sides, the casualties were overwhelmingly Druze.

Israel intervened successful the warring astatine 1 point, attacking what it said were Syrian authorities forces entering Suwayda. Since then, Israel has reportedly been trying to curry favour with locals there, including al-Hijri, who has been fervent successful his absorption to Damascus’s caller leadership.

“Israel appears intent connected a lasting subject beingness successful confederate Syria, and it uses Suwayda arsenic a lever against Damascus, offering capable enactment to support the state reliant connected Israeli extortion and excessively small to unafraid its future,” Hawach said. “Along its enactment successful Quneitra and Daraa [areas of confederate Syria that Israel has invaded], Israel treats neighbouring communities differently, reviving wartime grievances betwixt Syrians that immoderate aboriginal Syria-Israel statement would conflict to undo.”

In Suwayda, analysts said, al-Hijri’s enactment is not cosmopolitan but helium benefits whenever the Druze assemblage feels nether attack.

“Sheikh al-Hijri’s authorization rises with the community’s consciousness of menace and opens to statement arsenic that menace recedes, truthful unit from Damascus tends to fortify the enactment it aims to weaken,” Hawach said. “Each broadside points to the other’s hard enactment to warrant its own. That keeps Suwayda’s aboriginal framed successful information presumption and crowds retired the galore residents, clerics and section figures seeking a way betwixt cardinal regularisation and separation.”

Accountability needed for reconciliation

After the events of July 2025, the US began talks with the Syrian authorities hosted by Jordan to resoluteness the crisis. A trilateral statement was signed successful Amman successful September 2025 that said Syria would invitation an autarkic planetary committee to analyse what happened successful Suwayda and perpetrators would beryllium brought to justice.

While large warring has not resumed betwixt Damascus and Druze factions, the concern successful Suwayda remains successful a deadlock with galore successful the state having nary spot successful the government.

“Distrust has hardened, partially due to the fact that Damascus has sought to bring Suwayda backmost by pressuring its leadership, and residents consciousness that unit first, successful their salaries, their children’s exams and the roadworthy to the capital,” Hawach said. “Trust tends to instrumentality done what the authorities delivers. Damascus stands a amended accidental of winning radical backmost by serving residents straight and pursuing accountability for July 2025.”

Analysts said accountability is important if Damascus wants to bring Suwayda backmost into the Syrian fold.

“A durable colony needs credible accountability for what happened successful 2025,” Saban said. “The Druze request to beryllium guaranteed extortion of movement, acquisition and security. Neither weakening Hijri, nor restoring authorities institutions unsocial volition rebuild the trust.”