Israel-Syria talks over new security arrangements in final stages as Israeli Druze urge probe of crimes against Syrian brethren

Negotiations between Israel and Syria over a new security arrangement are in their final stages, an Israeli source told the Saudi Al-Hadath channel.

The source said that the agreement will end up being similar to the 1974 agreement with the Assad regime.

This agreement, following the Yom Kippur War the year before, had established a demilitarized zone along the Golan Heights border in Syrian territory that was supervised by a UN peacekeeping force.

The Israeli source noted that the talks included a provision for an Israeli-American-Syrian presence on Mount Hermon and a joint American-Israeli security committee to monitor developments along the border, apparently replacing the UN in this role.

The report also stated that the U.S. is pressuring Israel to reach an agreement before the end of the year.

A special focus is on the issue of the Druze community in southern Syria, which Israel says is under its protection. The source said, however, that the idea to establish a humanitarian corridor from Israel to the Suwayda province is not on the table but will instead pass through Damascus.

In return, the new government reportedly vowed not to harm the Druze and provide the town of Suwayda and the surrounding areas, which are populated mainly by Druze, with necessary supplies and employment opportunities.

The issue of southern Syria’s Druze erupted in July when Bedouin gunmen and government-affiliated Islamist groups attacked Suwayda earlier this year, killing hundreds of civilians.

Israel’s Druze community pressured Israel to help their brethren at the time.

Now, the community’s spiritual leader, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, and the Druze community’s Situation Room in Julis submitted an official appeal to the UN Commission of Inquiry following months of evidence gathering and legal review of the events in Suwayda.

The document calls on the commission to collect and preserve evidence on the ground, initiate legal action against those responsible, and act to urgently protect Syria’s Druze, arguing that since July 13 of this year, they have been subject to systematic terror attacks.

These are said to include massacres, kidnappings, sexual violence, and torture, all committed by terror groups like ISIS, or groups affiliated with the new government.

After a coalition led by former members of the terror group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took over the government, many former Islamist groups were partially integrated into the new official armed forces.

The document notes that as of August 2024, various attacks had killed over 2,000 Druze civilians, injured over 8,000, and led to around 600 kidnapped or disappeared, and displaced some 220,000, in about 45 villages that were attacked.

The Druze leadership claims the gathered data indicates war crimes, crimes against humanity, and even genocide, were committed against Syria’s Druze.

The document further emphasizes that Suwayda province is still under siege, as the government is preventing the entry of food and medicine amid a severely worsening humanitarian situation.