Hezbollah, Israel and the Golan Heights: What is happening?

The Druze people are an Arabic-speaking ethnic and religious group who mostly live in Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Syria. Part of the community has lived on the Golan Heights for centuries.

Those on the Golan Heights went from Syrian to Israeli rule in June 1967, when Israel occupied most of it. Majdal Shams is the largest of four Druze-majority towns there.

Israel offered citizenship to all of the Golan Height’s residents, though many chose to retain their allegiance to Syria.

About 20% of the approximately 21,000 Druze who live there today have accepted or inherited Israeli citizenship. Those who have kept Syrian citizenship also have Israeli residency status, with most of the same rights as Israeli nationals apart from the right to vote.

Beyond the occupied Golan Heights, there about about 110,000 Druze who are full Israeli citizens. They are the largest non-Jewish community which serves in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as part of the country’s mandatory national service.

There are about a million Druze in the world, though estimates vary. Their faith is an offshoot of a branch of Shia Islam but theirs is a distinct religion with its own set of practices and beliefs.