Jaramana leaders dismissed the Israeli statements as interference. “Let Israel say what it wants. We are part of Syria,” Jaramana resident Issa Abdul Haq, 53, told the AFP news agency.

Thousands of Druze, including the residents of Jaramana, protested in the following days with banners saying "Israel, out of Syria" or "We are Syrians, not sects".

Druze gunmen stand next to a checkpoint a day after clashes between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters left at least four people dead in the southern suburb of Jaramana ...

On March 1, Israel's Defense Ministry said the military was instructed to prepare to defend Jaramana, asserting that the minority it has vowed to protect was "under attack" by Syrian forces.

Jaramana, located approximately 60 kilometers (37.2 miles) from the Israeli border, is a diverse area home to Druze, Christians and Sunni and Shia Muslims.

JARAMANA, Syria (AP) — A Syrian Druze woman living in the United Arab Emirates frantically tried to keep in touch with her family in her hometown in southern Syria as clashes raged there over ...

Druze gunmen stand next to a checkpoint a day after clashes between members of the minority Druze sect and pro-government fighters left at least four people dead in the southern suburb of Jaramana ...

JARAMANA, Syria (AP) — A Syrian Druze woman living in the United Arab Emirates frantically tried to keep in touch with her family in her hometown in southern Syria as clashes raged there over ...