{"id":133350,"date":"2025-12-17T06:21:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T06:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=133350"},"modified":"2025-12-17T06:21:01","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T06:21:01","slug":"senior-senator-warns-u-s-on-syrian-forces-backs-israel-on-druze-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/133350\/","title":{"rendered":"Senior senator warns U.S. on Syrian forces, backs Israel on Druze security"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013<\/strong> Senator Lindsey Graham echoed on Wednesday concerns about Syria\u2019s evolving security landscape, saying U.S. support for the transitional government must recognize \u201cmounting evidence\u201d that Syrian security forces are more radical, and backing Israeli calls for protective zones for minorities such as the Druze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senator Graham, who has held the seat since 2003, stressed that efforts to assist the new Syrian government should proceed \u201cwith eyes wide open\u201d amid growing concerns about the radicalization of Syria\u2019s security forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignright is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">To say the video referenced in this article is disturbing would be a tremendous understatement.<br><br>While I support trying to help this new government in Syria, we have to do it with eyes wide open. There is mounting evidence that the Syrian Security Forces are more radical than\u2026<\/p>&mdash; Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LindseyGrahamSC\/status\/2001036485479281078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 16, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In comments prompted by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/israeli-official-issues-stark-warning-after-chilling-syrian-military-war-chants-surface\">Fox News report<\/a> showing Syrian military war chants that Israeli officials described as a chilling sign of hardline sentiment, Graham said there is \u201cmounting evidence that the Syrian Security Forces are more radical than they are being billed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He voiced support for Israel\u2019s insistence on \u201csecurity zones protecting not just Israel, but also minorities in Syria like the Druze.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Graham\u2019s remarks reflect rising tensions tied to a video circulating of soldiers chanting anti-Israel slogans during a Damascus parade attended by Syrian Transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa, which prompted Amichai Chikli, Israel\u2019s minister of Diaspora Affairs to warn that \u201cwar is inevitable.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Druze community, a religious minority with historic footholds in southern Syria and across the Levant, has been at the center of clashes and security fears throughout 2025. Israeli Druze leaders have called on Washington to guarantee protections for the minority following deadly violence in the Druze-majority Suwayda Governorate and subsequent cross-border tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Syria\u2019s post-civil war transition has been marked by shifting power dynamics and external pressures. After the fall of longtime President Bashar al-Assad, new authorities grapple with internal insurgencies and sectarian strife, particularly involving Druze communities in the south. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Israeli authorities have cited clashes along the Golan Heights and security incidents as justification for bolstering buffer zones and supporting minority protections, arguing that such measures serve both Israeli and Syrian minority interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>By Jwan Shekaki<\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Senator Lindsey Graham echoed on Wednesday concerns about Syria\u2019s evolving security landscape, saying U.S. support for the transitional government must recognize \u201cmounting evidence\u201d that Syrian security forces are more radical, and backing Israeli calls for protective zones for minorities such as the Druze. Senator Graham, who has held the seat [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":133352,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Senior senator warns U.S. on Syrian forces, backs Israel on Druze security<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 Senator Lindsey Graham echoed on Wednesday concerns about Syria\u2019s evolving security landscape, saying U.S. support for the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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