It's the first time in five decades that Druze leaders have crossed from Syria into Israeli-controlled territory to visit Druze religious sites and communities here. The buffer zo

A delegation of Druze religious elders from Syria crossed into Israel on Friday for the first such visit in more than 50 years, underscoring Israel's backing for the community amid growing tensions with the new government in Damascus.

Dozens of community members will be allowed to enter the country and work in agriculture, and later in factories, with the wokers divided into two groups as part of security considerations

Over half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel and the Golan Heights, a rocky plateau seized from Syria by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel’s 1981 annexation of the area is recognized only by the United States, with the rest of the world considering it occupied Syrian territory.

The head of the Druze community in Israel on Thursday hailed plans for the first visit by a Druze religious delegation from Syria in five decades, despite escalating cross-border tensions underscored by an Israeli airstrike on Damascus.

Dozens of Syrian Druze clerics crossed into Israel on Friday for their community’s first pilgrimage to a revered shrine since Israel’s creation in 1948, The Times of Israel reported. On board three buses escorted by military vehicles,

Israel has sent humanitarian aid to Druze communities in its neighbour Syria over the past few weeks, its foreign ministry said on Thursday, in a further sign of backing for the minority group.

Syrian Druze members expected to visit religious sites in occupied Golan Heights, northern Israel, according to Israeli public broadcaster KAN - Anadolu Ajansı

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.