Israel is interested in Syria security deal, possibly even peace agreement, PM Netanyahu tells US – report

Potentially capping a remarkable turnaround in Syria-Israel relations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. Syria envoy Tom Barrack he is ready to enter negotiations with the Syrian government under U.S. mediation, the news outlet Axios reported on Wednesday.

The outlet cited two Israeli officials. One official said that a reason for the turnaround is that the government of President Ahmad al-Sharaa appears to be less closely aligned with Turkey than Israel initially feared.

“It is better for us that the Syrian government is close to the U.S. and Saudi Arabia,” the official said.

Another official told Axios that Jerusalem aims to start the negotiation process with an update to the security arrangements signed by Israel and Syria after the Yom Kippur War, in 1974.

With the collapse of the Assad regime and its army, the agreements effectively ceased to function, and the Israeli military took over the Demilitarized Zone on Syrian territory, which had been stipulated by the agreements.

Israel’s end goal would be a full-blown peace deal with Syria, the first between the countries since Israel’s creation in 1948, and after three major land wars and numerous smaller conflicts.

When al-Sharaa’s Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham toppled the Assad regime last December, Israel reacted with extreme skepticism, which was further fueled by two episodes of violent attacks on Syrian Alawites and Druze, respectively.

Israel quickly moved to seize strategic territory in Syria and destroyed nearly all heavy military equipment in the country.

However, al-Sharaa has since strongly signaled that he intends to move his country into the U.S.-led camp in the region, emphasizing ties with U.S.-allies Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and even meeting U.S. President Donald Trump in person.

In the historic meeting, Trump promised to lift U.S. sanctions and showered al-Sharaa with praise afterward.

Afterward, Israeli-Syrian contacts reportedly intensified, possibly even including direct meetings between representatives in third countries.

Netanyahu believes that al-Sharaa’s intention to move toward the U.S. creates a rare diplomatic opportunity, according to an Israeli official. “We want to try and move towards normalization with Syria as soon as possible,” the official added.

Last week, Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey who is also the Syria envoy, traveled to Israel after visiting Syria, where he had raised the American flag over the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Damascus for the first time since 2012.

According to the Israeli official, Barrack delivered the message that Syria is open to entering into negotiations with Israel. The visit came shortly after a rocket was launched from the Syrian Golan Heights at Israel.

“POTUS envisions a Syria that cannot be used as a Platform by any 3rd party nation state, or non nation state, to threaten Syria’s neighbors, including Israel,” Barrack emphasized on 𝕏.

He then continued to the U.S., where Barrack said he discussed “Middle East affairs that all relate to Türkiye and Syria” with Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“I can assure you the President’s vision with the Secretary’s execution is not only hopeful but achievable,” Barrack wrote on 𝕏.