Mohammed Isa Al Abbasi 
About sixty Druze clerics from the Quneitra Governorate in southern Syria headed on Friday morning, on an unprecedented visit, according to AFP correspondent.
The visit came in response to the invitation of the spiritual leader of the Druze Almohads community in Israel, Sheikh Mowaffaq Tarif, and it was interspersed with a religious shrine visit, which sparked criticism of a number of Druze, especially as it comes after Israeli statements that pledged to protect the Druze of Syria.
About sixty Druze clerics gathered, on Friday morning, at the outskirts of the village of Hadar, located in the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, which occupies Israel, most of which are, in the sight of the Israeli soldiers stationed at updated points on the outskirts of the village.
A France Presse correspondent saw two buses entered from the Israeli side, amid tight security measures.
A source accompanying the visit, without revealing his name, told AFP that the Israeli army prevented the delegation from carrying cell phones with them or the journalists approaching them while they were gathering.
The visit is included, according to a source close to the delegation, on Thursday, the visit of the shrine of the Prophet Shuaib, who has a special place at the Druze on Friday afternoon, and the delegation will participate on Saturday morning in the opening of a religious headquarters in the village of Al -Buqee’a in northern Israel, according to the invitation program directed by Sheikh Tarif.
Druze is distributed between Lebanon, Israel, the occupied Golan and Syria, as the Suwayda Governorate (south) adjacent to Quneitra is their main stronghold.
Since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011, the Druze has greatly managed to neutralize themselves from its repercussions. They did not completely take up arms against the regime, nor were they involved in the opposition, except for a few.
Tens of thousands of young men failed to recruit compulsory recruitment, they were damaged by carrying weapons in defense of their areas only, while Damascus turned a blind eye to them.
And Israeli statements recently sparked confusion in Syria, after the Israeli Defense Minister, Yisrael Katz, at the beginning of this month, said that “if the regime prejudice the Druze, then we will harm him,” after limited clashes in the city of Jaramana in the Damascus suburb, which is inhabited by Druze and Christians.
Druze religious leaders and references expressed their rejection of Israeli statements. They affirmed their adherence to the unity of Syria, which was confirmed by the transitional president, Ahmed Al -Shara, by inviting the international community to pressure Israel to withdraw from the “immediate” from areas in which it penetrated in southern Syria, after the overthrow of the ousted President Bashar al -Assad.
Talks are currently taking place between representatives of the Druze community and the new administration in Syria to reach an agreement that guarantees the integration of their armed factions into the Syrian Ministry of Defense.
