JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A group of around 100 senior figures from Syria's Druze are expected to visit the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Friday, members of the community said, in a further sign of Israel's support for the minority group.

Israel said on Monday that it was willing to defend Syria's Druze community following days of violence in Syria that a war monitor said led to mass killings of another religious minority. The violence began last week between fighters linked to Syria's new government and forces loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

Members of the small religious sect find themselves caught between two forces that many of them distrust: the new, Islamist-led government in Damascus and Syria’s hostile neighbor, Israel, which has used the plight of the Druze as a pretext to intervene in the country.

As violence escalates in Syria, Israel has announced its readiness to protect the Druze community, a minority group that has found itself caught in the crossfire of the country’s ongoing turmoil. The move highlights Israel’s longstanding ties with the Druze and underscores its concern for regional stability and humanitarian protection.

The Golan Heights is home to 24,000 Druze, an Arab minority who practice an offshoot of Islam and also live in Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

The post Katz says Israel will soon allow Syrian Druze to enter Israel for work in the Golan Heights appeared first on The Times of Israel.

Israel’s Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that it will permit Syrian Druze workers to enter the disputed Golan Heights territory from Syria, although no timeline has been provided for when permits will start being issued.

Israel is preparing to "soon" allow Syrian Druze to work in the Golan Heights, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday."We will soon allow Druze workers from Syria to work in the Golan Heights communities in Israel,