While Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot was touring the Hermon and the Golan Heights on Sunday to see what was happening on the Syrian side of the border, another delegation arrived on the scene.

The heads of the Druze had arrived, accompanied by officers from GOC Northern Command and the intelligence division, and they listened to an overview of the latest developments involving attacks by Syrian Sunni militants in the northern Golan.

The visit, which took place under the initiative of the IDF, was intended to calm the Druze community amid fears of an impending massacre of the Druze town of Khadr on the other side of the border, at the hands of Syrian militants.

Eisenkot, who met personally with leaders of the community in Israel last month, did not meet them this time, but other senior IDF officers have been in constant communication with them. This contact has been maintained in order to stop the growing rift between Israel and its Druze citizens over the state’s approach to the plight of their fellow Druze in Syria.

The Druze visitors to the Hermon certainly got the impression that there was a difference between the desperate reports they received last week and the real situation in Khadr. So far it seems the rebels are heeding Israeli warnings and aren’t advancing toward the village itself. On the other hand, Khadr’s residents are preparing to defend themselves as Assad’s forces gradually retreat after failing in their battle against militants last week.

Read the article in full at Haaretz.