Tel Aviv, May 5 -- Speaking at a conference on Israeli security and the Druze in Akko on Monday, Sheikh Muafak Tarif, spiritual leader of Israel's Druze community, called on the international community to protect Syrian minorities from radical Islamists.

"After October 7 and after what Hezbollah did, Israel cannot allow extremist terror groups to be on its northern border," Tarif said.

Tarif urged the international community to help Syria move beyond its political deadlock and establish a democratic government inclusive of its diverse ethnic groups, which he said could eventually lead to peace with Israel. He highlighted the plight of the Druze in Syria, noting that "a thousand foreign ISIS fighters" openly reject the Druze as part of S...