Israel and Syria explore security deal

Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, said Friday that Damascus is in negotiations with Israel on a possible security agreement that could see Israeli troops withdraw from areas they have occupied since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad last December.

When Assad’s regime collapsed on December 8 under pressure from Islamist-led forces, Israel deployed troops into the UN-monitored buffer zone on the Golan Heights — a strip separating Israeli and Syrian forces since the 1974 disengagement agreement that followed the Arab-Israeli war of 1973. 

Since then, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against military targets in Syria and launched incursions into the south, with the new authorities in Damascus refraining from any retaliation.

“We are currently engaged in negotiations and dialogue on a security agreement,” al-Sharaa told state television Alekhbariah. He added that Israel considered the 1974 disengagement accord void after Assad’s fall, “even though Syria immediately affirmed its commitment to it.” Talks are now underway to return Israel “to where it was before December 8,” he said.

Despite these assurances, analysts warn that caution is necessary when dealing with Syria’s new Islamist regime. While the interim authorities appear to favor dialogue, questions remain about their long-term intentions, their ties with hardline groups, and their ability to uphold regional security commitments.

Israel and Syria have never established diplomatic relations and remain technically at war since 1948. Damascus has never recognized Israel’s occupation and later annexation of part of the Golan Heights.

Last month, Syrian state media reported that Foreign Minister Assaad al-Chaibani met with his Israeli counterpart, Ron Dermer, in Paris to discuss de-escalation and the volatile situation in southern Syria’s Druze-majority province of Sweida, where Israel has intervened in support of the Druze community.

In August, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also confirmed that talks were taking place on demilitarizing southern Syria.

While negotiations mark a significant shift in the conflict, Israel and its allies are urged to remain vigilant, mindful of the risks posed by Syria’s Islamist-led leadership and the fragile security environment on the ground.