Israel Police arrest 9 suspects in attack on IDF ambulance carrying wounded Syrians

Five of the suspects were arrested in the Golan village of Majdal Shams, where a mob attack on ambulance Monday night left one Syrian killed and another critically wounded. The other four are suspected in the attack earlier that day in the northern village of Horfish, which left no casualties. Both attacks was perpetrated by Druze residents of the Golan, protesting Israel\’s treatment of Syrians regardless of whether they belong to rebel organizations.
 

The suspects will be brought to court later Wednesday for an extension of their remand.
 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet Wednesday with the leadership of the Druze community, headed by Muafak Tarif, to discuss the crisis in the Golan following the lynch. Defense Minister Moshe Ya\’alon, IDF Chief Gadi Eizenkot, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino are also scheduled to take part in the meeting.
 

The Israel Police and the Israel Defense Forces held an urgent meeting Tuesday afternoon, along with representatives of other security agencies, to decide on what actions to take to counter the possibility of further Druze attacks on wounded Syrians being treated in northern Israel.
 

In the first incident in Horfish on Monday, a small crowd attacked the ambulance, demanding to check whether the passengers on board belonged to a rebel organization that has been targeting Druze in the civil war in Syria. In the second incident Monday night in Majdal Shams, one Syrian rebel was killed after being attacked by a mob, and a second man was also critically wounded.
 

The IDF and police are preparing to mobilize forces to northern Israel to prepare for the possibility that Druze protesters will block roads, throw stones or participate in other forms of violent protest.