By bnm Gulf bureau bnm Gulf bureau Fresh clashes south of Damascus between local Druze and government forces suggest the community may be laying groundwork for a semi-autonomous or fully independent non-Islamic statelet before Damascus manages to create a new government.

Israel’s defense ministry says the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of Damascus in neighboring Syria.

Israel’s defense minister says minority Druze in Jaramana a town south of Damascus, were under attack from the new Syrian regime and that he ordered Israeli forces to be poised to help protect them if necessary.