Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa hinted on Sunday that a security agreement with Israel is in the works, and that, were it to succeed, it could lead to normalization with the Jewish state.
“If the security agreement succeeds, and Israel commits to the security side, and Syria does as well, along with all the conditions of the agreement that may be concluded later, this would qualify for a second stage of talks about a comprehensive peace, without conceding Syria’s right to the occupied Golan [Heights],” the Syrian leader said in an interview aired on Sunday by Al Jazeera.
Israel conquered the western part of the Golan Heights in the Six-Day War in 1967, and has since applied its sovereignty over the territory. In the aftermath of the collapse of the Bashar Assad regime in December 2024, the Israel Defense Forces took over a narrow, commanding terrain of the Syrian Golan Heights as a defensive measure against rogue jihadist groups in Syria.
Whether a security arrangement with Israel includes a withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Syrian Golan Heights was not clear from the interview.
Al-Sharaa further stated in the interview that he does not intend to get militarily involved in Lebanon to help secure the sovereignty of the ruling government in Beirut.
Damascus moreover seeks to maintain its non-aggression stance toward Israel, according to Al Jazeera.
