Suwayda remains in stasis as US signals differences with Israel on Syria

Key points

• US special envoy Tom Barrack's remarks on Suwayda were seen as a clear message that Washington does not back Israel's support for Druze leader Hikmat al-Hijri.
• Suwayda, a majority-Druze governorate, remains outside full Syrian government control and in deadlock after deadly sectarian killings in July 2025.
• Analysts say credible accountability for the 2025 violence and better delivery of services are key to Damascus winning back trust in Suwayda.

US special envoy Tom Barrack said in a Friday interview with X personality Mario Nawfal that Washington does not back Israeli support for a Druze leader in Suwayda, according to analysts, signaling differences between the US and Israel over Syria. Suwayda, a majority-Druze governorate in southern Syria, is one of the last areas where the Syrian government does not have full control.

Barrack, who is also the US ambassador to Turkiye and a special envoy to Syria and Iraq, referred to "a particular Druze sheikh", thought to be Hikmat al-Hijri, a leading political and religious figure in Suwayda. The National Guard, a Druze armed group linked to al-Hijri, has been accused of receiving Israeli support with separatist aims.

Diverging US and Israeli aims

President Donald Trump has built a strong relationship with his counterpart in Damascus, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and sees instability in Syria as dangerous for a country rebuilding after 13 years of war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a very different view of the new Syrian government.

Israel invaded Syria after Bashar al-Assad's fall in December 2024, seizing land in Quneitra governorate and other strategic areas. It has bombed the Ministry of Defence and repeatedly entered Syrian territory, drawing condemnation from Syrian officials.

Israel backing [al-Hijri] does not equal American backing.

— Navvar Saban, researcher at the Arab Center for Contemporary Syrian Studies

Deadlock in Suwayda

Residents rose up against the al-Assad regime in 2023 and kept protesting until it collapsed in December 2024. Their hesitancy toward the new leadership turned to open opposition after fighting between Bedouin tribes and Druze in Suwayda became deadly sectarian killings in July 2025, with casualties overwhelmingly Druze.

A trilateral agreement signed in Amman in September 2025 called for an independent international commission to investigate the violence. Major fighting has not resumed, but the province remains in deadlock with little trust in the government.