Hundreds of residents of the Syrian city of Suwayda and its countryside joined protests against any foreign intervention or attempts to divide the country in response to recent comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding the demilitarization of southern Syria, Hawar News Agency reported on 25 February.

Protestors in the Druze majority city emphasized “the importance of unity to confront foreign attempts aimed at occupying Syrian lands, primarily the Turkish and Israeli occupations.”

Protestors chanted the slogan, “From Suwayda to Qamishlo, and from Deraa to Idlib … Syria belongs to the Syrians, and it is not the property of any alliance or mandate.”

They emphasized that Syria’s Sunni, Christian, Druze, and Kurdish communities “are united by a single history and an indivisible identity represented by citizenship on the geography of the country.”

Participants directed sharp criticisms at the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Netanyahu, whose forces occupy Syrian land, saying that they “are not guardians of the Syrians.”

The protesters called on the government in Damascus to assume its responsibilities in responding to the interventions of both parties and to express a clear and explicit stance.

The slogan “Al-Suwayda is a red line” was raised as a symbol of rejecting any attacks or intervention, while the protesters emphasized that “legitimacy is not represented by foreign powers.”

The Israeli premier demanded on Sunday that “southern Syria be completely demilitarized” in a speech delivered to a new batch of officers in Holon, south of Tel Aviv.

“We will not allow the forces of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham organization or the New Syrian Army to enter the area south of Damascus,” he said.

Netanyahu demanded “complete disarmament in southern Syria,” noting that Israeli forces would remain in Mount Hermon and the buffer zone in Quneitra Governorate in southern Syria for an indefinite period. He claimed Israel is committed to protecting the Druze in southern Syria and will not tolerate any threat to them.

Protests were organized on Monday in Quneitra as well, where residents viewed Netanyahu’s comments as a sign that Israel wishes to divide Syria.

Israeli forces occupied large swathes of land in Quneitra after the fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government in December. The new Syrian government, led by former Al-Qaeda in Iraq commander Ahmad al-Sharaa (also known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani), has not responded to Israel’s occupation of Syrian land.

Turkish forces occupy a ‘buffer zone’ in northern Syria, and exert additional control over territory through an armed proxy group, the Syrian National Army (SNA). The Turkish government also openly backs the HTS-led government in Damascus.

Demonstrators gathered Tuesday at the Khan Arnabeh roundabout in Quneitra, raising banners calling for “Syrian unity” and “rejecting division” while chanting slogans against the Israeli occupation.

Said Mohammed, an activist in Quneitra, stated that the protests were a response to Israel’s presence in southern Syria and called for the international community to pressure Israel to comply with the 1974 disengagement agreement.