Druze mourners protest Israeli ministers at Golan victims' funeral
Mourners carry the coffins and pictures of people killed in a rocket in Majdal Shams, Israel-occupied Golan Heights, July 28, 2024. (AFP Photo)


The Druze community of Majdal Shams in Israel-occupied Golan Heights protested the presence of Israeli ministers at the funeral for 12 people killed in a rocket attack Saturday.

Israel has linked the attack on a football field to Lebanon's Hezbollah group, which denied any responsibility.

Footage aired by Israeli media showed mourners protesting the presence of Israeli ministers, including far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, at the funeral.

"Get out of here, you criminal. We don't want you in the Golan," one protester shouted at Smotrich.

Environment Protection Minister Idit Silman, Economy Minister Nir Barkat and Energy Minister Eli Cohen faced similar disapproval.

According to the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, the Druze Authorities Forum sent a letter to Israeli government ministers requesting them not to attend the funeral.

"Do not come. Given the sensitivity of the situation, we ask not to turn this massacre into a political event. We demand a quiet religious funeral according to Druze customs," read the letter.

Fears have grown about a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah amid an exchange of cross-border attacks between the two sides.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of Israel's genocidal Gaza war, which has killed over 39,300 Palestinians since the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion.