The post Herzog meets Druze leader after ‘horrific’ Syria violence, calls for de-escalation appeared first on The Times of Israel.

"This flagrant assault, which forms part of a deliberate policy pursued by the Israeli entity to inflame tensions, spread chaos, and undermine security and stability in Syria, constitutes a blatant violation of the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law," it added.

Israel says it is intervening to protect Syria’s Druze residents who have strong ties to Israel’s Druze community. Damascus called the attack a violation of sovereignty.

Ongoing sectarian violence in Sweida, Syria has triggered mass displacement in the area as humanitarians attempt to deliver aid.

The latest escalation began with a Bedouin tribe in Sweida setting up a checkpoint and attacking and robbing a Druze man, which triggered tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor.

Syria's government misread how Israel would respond to its troops deploying to the country's south this week, encouraged by U.S. messaging that Syria should be governed as a centralized state, eight sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a U.K.-based war monitor, said the clashes started after members of a Bedouin tribe in Sweida province set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a Druze man, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the tribes and Druze armed groups.

More than 100,000 civilians have had to flee homes and refugee camps because of violence in Idlib province. "Barrel bombs are just falling on the heads of these people," says a civil defense worker.

The violence also leads desperate, ... Diplomacy and De-escalation To end the conflict in Syria, the United States should pursue a course of action consisting of the following steps: ...

We hear from a Druze woman whose whole family was killed by what she claims were Syrian government forces. Also on the programme: Should Putin-aligned artists be welcomed at cultural events? And, a symphonic tribute to The Beatles.