Druze Suspects Arrested in Syria Ambulance Attack

Israel arrested nine Druze Arabs on Wednesday over two attacks, one of them fatal, on ambulances bringing casualties from Syria’s civil war to Israeli hospitals, security sources said on Wednesday.

Monday’s attacks in northern Israel and the Israeli Golan Heights drew strong censure from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, whose government is trying to prevent a spillover of sectarianism from Syria while offering limited humanitarian aid.

Inflamed by media reports suggesting some of the hundreds of wounded Syrians who have been admitted to Israel for medical care belong to jihadi rebel groups fighting the Druze in Syria, the crowds of Druze blocked two army ambulances for inspection.

Druze communal and spiritual leaders from Israel and the Golan mobilized to stem further flare-ups, issuing an edict on Tuesday warning any Druze engaging in such violence that they risked ostracism from the close-knit sect.

Israeli security sources said nine suspects were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the attacks. A police spokeswoman said the arrests took place within the Druze communities in Israel and the Golan.

A probe was also under way as to whether information about the ambulances was leaked to the protesters from troops handling casualty transfers on the Golan boundary, Israeli media said.

This article appeared in print on page 6 of the June 25th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.