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The Druze spiritual leader in Israel Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif said the eyes and hearts of the community in Israel are in the Druze victims in Syria. "I call on Israel, the Jews around the world and the international community to act now, immediately, to prevent a massacre. Israel must not stand by in the face of events unfolding as we speak," he said. "Israeli leaders, you must take on the burden of proof and action."
The demonstrators set tires on fire, and the disruption caused major traffic jams in the area, blocking access to nearby military cemeteries for the Memorial Day ceremonies.
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A Druze protest in northern Israel
(Video: Talia Wiess)
Additional protests were along the Galilee region, including the Druze town of Hurfeish.
Police officers in the northern district were ordered to leave military cemeteries and the gravesites of their fallen comrades to secure key intersections and ensure that bereaved families and visitors could reach cemeteries on this sensitive day.
“A short time ago, several illegal protests began at multiple locations in the north. Northern District officers are deployed at the scenes to maintain public order and help participants in various ceremonies reach their destinations safely on this sensitive day," the police said in a statement.
More than a dozen people were killed in a predominantly Druze town near the Syrian capital on Tuesday in clashes sparked by a purported recording of a Druze man cursing the Prophet Mohammad which angered Sunni gunmen, rescuers and security sources said.
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The clashes began overnight when gunmen from the nearby town of Maliha and other predominantly Sunni areas converged on the mostly Druze town of Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, security sources said.
The fighting, with small and medium arms fire, left 13 people dead, according to local rescue workers.
Among the dead were two members of Syria's General Security Service, a new security force comprised mostly of former rebels, according to the interior ministry spokesperson Mustafa al-Abdo.