ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Druze spiritual leader Hikmat al-Hijri on Saturday called on the UN, humanitarian organizations, and the international community to lift the Damascus government's siege on "Jabal al-Bashan" (Jabal al-Arab) in southern Syria, with Syrian media slamming the leader for using the Hebrew term for the area.

Jabal al-Druze, also known as Jabal al-Arab, is a mountainous region in the Druze-majority Suwayda province that has recently been troubled by the political and security unrest following the rise of tensions between the Damascus government and the Druze minority.

In a statement addressed to various UN bodies, humanitarian agencies, and international actors, the spiritual leader revealed that “a comprehensive siege of everything has been imposed on our peaceful civilian mountain, affecting: food, medicine, water, fuel, and freedom of movement,” adding that the international aid that goes through is not enough to address the crisis in the region.

Hijri cited various cases of humanitarian violations that supposedly face the mountain range residents, among them are arbitrary salary suspensions, internet blackouts, denial of education, occupation of villages, destruction of facilities, collapse of healthcare, and more.

“We are besieged in a large prison within the mountain, our people's movement is limited, monitored, and threatened, and our villages are occupied. No food, no money, no raw materials,” he added.

As a result, the leader demanded “the immediate lifting of the siege,” holding the perpetrators responsible, complete Damascus withdrawal from the region’s villages, opening of an international humanitarian crossing, and allowing the mountain’s residents to practice “their right to self-determination.”

Syrian state TV slammed Hijri for using the Hebrew Biblical term of "Jabal al-Bashan" instead of the standard Jabal al-Arab (Arab mountain), accusing the leader of attempting to appeal to the Israeli government and gain support "for his separatist demands.”

The Druze leader is often accused of treason by the Syrian authorities and media for his close association and cooperation with the Israeli government, as well as being labeled as a separatist, with Hijri often calling for the self-determination of the Syrian Druze population.

On Thursday, Suwayda Governor Mustafa al-Bakour blamed the lack of services and other issues in the province on “certain sides” taking “personal positions” and “closing the door for communication with the government and allowing some countries such as Israel and the US to speak on its [Suwayda’s] behalf in international forums.”

The Israeli military has launched several incursions in southern Syria following the rise of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to power, involving numerous raids, arrest sprees, inspections, and establishing checkpoints.

Israel has also repeatedly launched airstrikes against Syria, nominally to destroy weapons caches and protect the minority Druze community that has been the target of sectarian massacres at the hands of armed forces affiliated with the new Damascus government, coming as Israel's Druze population has loudly advocated for the protection of their kin in the neighboring country.

In July, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) documented over 1,600 deaths in Suwayda as a result of clashes between the Druze and Damascus-backed Bedouin tribesmen, including more than 700 individuals from Suwayda, most of them being Druze.

At the beginning of October, an international investigation committee arrived in Suwayda to investigate the massacres and human rights violations committed since July, the war monitor reported.

Syria has repeatedly fallen into sectarian conflict since Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebels overthrew the Bashar al-Assad regime in December, leading Sharaa to seize the presidency.

Jabal al-Druze is located in Eastern Suwayda, south of Syria, containing around 120 Druze villages and houses the majority of the Syrian Druze population.