The civil war in Syria has reached Israel and those closest to it in the region. Rebels, whatever their affiliation, are now in control of almost the entire area bordering Israel, with the exception of the Quneitra crossing and the Druze village al-Khader, about 3-4 kms from the Druze village Majdal al-Shams on the Israeli Golan Heights. The UN peacekeeping forces who for decades manned the no-man’s zone separating Israel and Syria are virtually gone, making a confrontation between the sides more likely than ever.
Some areas taken by the rebels or besieged by them are more of concern to Israel than others. One such area is Jabal al-Duruz (Mountain of the Druze), the region to the south of Damascus and north of the border with Jordan. Located about 80-100 km from the Israel-Syria border, the area is home to over one million Druze and a small number of Christians. After World War I it was included within the French mandate over Syria. In 1921 it was declared by the French as an independent state. But in 1939 the French merged the small state they had created into Syria, in part because of the 1925 Druze anti-French rebellion.