We use cookies on this website. By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings, you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy and for us to access our cookies on your device.
Transcript/ScriptISRAEL SYRIA BORDER
HEADLINE: Druze living on Golan Heights welcome new Syrian rulers
TEASER: Israel says its forces won’t say in Syrian territory permanently
BYLINE: Linda Gradstein
DATELINE: Majdal Shams, Israeli Golan Heights
DATE: 12/23/24, 4:09 pm
VIDEOGRAPHER: Ricki Rosen
PRODUCER
SCRIPT EDITORS: DLJ, sv
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA Original, AFP, Reuters
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV X_RADIO_X_
TRT: 2:55
VID APPROVED BY: Baragona
TYPE: TV/R
EDITOR NOTES: ))
Email edits to lindagradstein@gmail.com and rickirosen1@gmail.com;
WEB DESK, PLEASE POST CAMERA CREDIT FOR RICKI ROSEN
((INTRO)) [[Israel has taken over a buffer zone between Israel and Syria and says its forces will not withdraw until it is sure that residents of the Golan Heights border area will be secure. Half of these residents are from the Druze community, who worry about what the fall of the Bashar al-Assad's regime will mean for them and their family members on the Syrian side of the border. Linda Gradstein and Ricki Rosen reported from the Golan Heights.]]
((VIDEO: DRUZE IN MAJDAL SHAMS CELEBRATE FALL OF ASSAD, AFP))
((VIDEO: DRUZE IN MAJDAL SHAMS CELEBRATE FALL OF ASSAD, REUTERS))
((VIDEO: DRUZE IN MAJDAL SHAMS CELEBRATE FALL OF ASSAD, AFP))
((NARRATOR))
The majority of the some 20,000 Druze residents on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights welcomed the fall of the Assad regime. The Golan Druze are an Arabic-speaking religious minority, most of whom consider themselves to be Syrian citizens and have extended family on the Syrian side of the border.
Many, like Druze social activist Nabih Al-Halabi, say they hope for a new democratic regime in Syria which will make peace with Israel.
((Nabih Al-Halabi, Druze Social Activist )) ((Male, English, VOA))
“I will stay in my house. I will not leave my house if it’s Israeli regime or Syrian regime. But we hope and I believe that in the next few years, Israel and Syria will be more close to make a peace agreement, a real agreement.”
((VIDEO: SCENES OF SYRIAN CIVIL WAR, AFP))
((VIDEO: MAJDAL SHAMS LOCAL COUNCIL SIGN TOGETHER WITH ISRAELI FLAG, VOA))
((NARRATOR))
The long Syrian civil war and the current situation of social and economic uncertainty have pushed young Druze in the Golan Heights into identifying more with Israel, according to Dolan Abu Salah, the mayor of Majdal Shams, the largest Druze town in the Golan. He has worked as an Israeli local official for 16 years.
((Dolan Abu Salah, Majdal Shams Mayor )) (( Male in Hebrew NEEDS VOICEOVER), VOA))
“Since the fall of Assad we have experienced people here getting closer to Israel. The one who has proven that it can ensure security and human rights, especially for those people living adjacent to the border, is the state of Israel. It is the stable factor here.”
((VIDEO: SCENES OF SYRIAN ISLAMIC REBEL GROUPS TAKING CONTROL OF SYRIAN CITIES, REUTERS))
((VIDEO: AL SHARAA GREETS HIS VICTORIOUS REBEL FORCES, REUTERS))
((NARRATOR))
Others in the Druze community say they worry about the rebels now leading Syria, who were previously associated with Islamic fundamentalist groups. They fear that the rebels will not be as tolerant of the Druze religious minority as was the former secular leader Bashar al-Assad.
((Radio Cue: Ata Farhat is a Druze journalist.))
((Ata Farhat, Druze Journalist )) ((Male (in Hebrew NEEDS VOICEOVER), VOA))
“First, let them cut off their beards and tone down their Islam. After that I will agree that they will take charge of Syria.”
((VIDEO: ISRAELI ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF VISITS TROOPS IN GOLAN HEIGHTS))
((Mandatory cg: Israel Defense Forces))
((VIDEO: ISRAELI TANKS AT THE SYRIAN BORDER FENCE))
((Mandatory cg: Israel Defense Forces))
((NARRATOR))
The intentions of the Islamic fundamentalist rebel groups now leading Syria also worry Israel. Immediately after Assad fled, the Israeli army moved into the buffer zone
between the Israeli side of the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied in 1967 and later annexed, and the Syrian side.
Israel says it has no intention of staying in the buffer zone permanently, but wants to make sure its residents near the border are safe.
((Radio Cue: Stephane Cohen is the former commander of IDF Liaison Unit to UN Forces in Syria & Lebanon.))
((Stephane Cohen, Institute for National Security Studies )) (( Male, (in English), VOA))
“We cannot judge because the regime collapsed just on the 8th of December. So in the short term it looks stable, but we don’t know what will happen in the next few weeks and months.”
((VIDEO: AL SHARAA SPEAKS ABOUT SYRIA’S POLITICAL FUTURE, AFP))
((VIDEO: IDF FORCES AT SYRIAN BORDER))
((Mandatory cg: Israel Defense Forces))
((NARRATOR))
The rebel leader and de facto ruler of Syria today, Ahmed Al Sharaa, says that Syria is exhausted by war and wants peace with everyone, including Israel. After more than a year of war against Hamas and Hezbollah, Israel too is exhausted. But both sides are waiting to see what happens next in Syria.
(( Linda Gradstein, VOA News, on the Israel-Syria border ))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateDecember 23, 2024 16:37 EST
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
