Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, on Wednesday called on Syria to "leave the Druze in Sweida alone," after the government in Damascus sent troops to the southern region to quell unrest.
"As we have made clear and warned, Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria and will enforce the demilitarization policy we have decided on," he said in a statement. Syrian forces should withdraw, he added, and promised no let-up in Israeli military attacks until that happened, saying Israel would "raise the level of responses against the regime if the message is not understood."