Druze men near the border barrier close to the village of Majdal Shams, on the Golan Heights occupied by Israel, during the entry of buses transporting dignitaries on pilgrimage, March 14, 2025. (Credit: John Wessels/AFP)
A delegation of Druze sheikhs from Syria crossed the Golan cease-fire line on Friday for a pilgrimage in Israel, marking the first time Syrian Druze have done so since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, as observed by AFP journalists.
In three buses escorted by Israeli military vehicles, the religious leaders crossed the line at Majdal Shams, in the part of the Golan occupied by Israel, and are to visit a revered site in the north of the country and meet the religious leader of Israel's Druze, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, according to a source close to the delegation.
A delegation of Druze sheikhs from Syria crossed the Golan cease-fire line on Friday for a pilgrimage in Israel, marking the first time Syrian Druze have done so since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, as observed by AFP journalists.
In three buses escorted by Israeli military vehicles, the religious leaders crossed the line at Majdal Shams, in the part of the Golan occupied by Israel, and are to visit a revered site in the north of the country and meet the religious leader of Israel's Druze, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, according to a source close to the delegation.
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