Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his government has adopted a clear policy to demilitarize the area stretching from south of the Syrian capital to the Jabal al-Druze region in southern Syria.

“The Israeli Druze are now trying to use that and urge the Israeli government to protect fellow Druze in Syria,” he said, explaining, in part, the justification for Israel’s strikes on Syria, where the Druze community has traditionally been anti-Israel, even as some leaders grow closer to Israel.