Netanyahu reveals details of phone call with Syrian president regarding Sweida events

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed the behind-the-scenes details of his contact with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa during the field developments witnessed in Sweida Governorate, emphasizing that he demanded him to immediately halt the attacks targeting the Druze population. These statements came during a visit by Netanyahu to the Likud party headquarters in the Druze town of Yarka in northern Israel, where he spoke to party members and supporters from the Druze community about his government's handling of developments in Syria. Netanyahu stated that he initiated the contact with al-Sharaa when the events in Sweida broke out, adding that he directly instructed him to stop when the massacres against their Druze brothers in Syria occurred. The Israeli prime minister pointed to what he described as attempts to target the Druze in Sweida, within the context of discussing violence witnessed in other Syrian areas, including Kurdish-majority regions and areas inhabited by Alawites on the Syrian coast. According to the narrative presented by Netanyahu, Israeli airstrikes targeting Syrian forces during the Sweida events contributed to halting their advance and forcing them to withdraw, and since then, Israel has maintained that it will not accept threats against the Druze community in Syria. Netanyahu's statement reveals a direct call he claimed to have made with al-Sharaa during those events, without providing further details in the reported statements about the timing of the call or its full content.