Syria’s Al-Sharaa: Talks with Israel show progress
Shafaq News – Damascus
Syria’s transitional President Ahmad Al-Sharaa announced on Monday that talks with Israel had entered an advanced stage, voicing hope they would safeguard Syria’s sovereignty while easing Israel’s security concerns.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Al-Sharaa underlined that Syria might discuss the occupied Golan Heights if Israel maintains a ceasefire, stressing that “the ball is now in Israel’s court and the international community’s court to define the real and essential steps forward.”
After Bashar al-Assad was toppled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in collaboration with other armed factions on December 8, 2024, Syria and Israel – still officially at war – launched intensive, behind-the-scenes talks on a security arrangement covering the border.
“At the negotiation table with Israel, the first phase involves a security arrangement that restores the 1974 ceasefire,” Al-Sharaa noted, adding that questions remain about Israel’s intentions.
“Are its security concerns genuine, or does it harbor expansionist ambitions? Compliance with the current agreement will determine that,” he continued.
Israel seized the Golan Heights in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981, a move not recognized internationally. After al-Assad’s ouster, Israeli forces advanced into positions inside the buffer zone set by the 1974 disengagement agreement and launched hundreds of airstrikes on Syrian military sites to prevent the new authorities from taking control of the former army’s arsenal.
Israel has also carried out ground raids and detained individuals accused of militant activity in southern Syria, while demanding the area remain demilitarized.
