TEHRAN – Syrian’s new government is resetting regional ties, with many focusing on what will happen in Israel, Al Jazeera said in an explanator on July 1.
Reports of talks between Syria and Israel have even floated a timeline for potential normalization between the two countries, which have been technically at war since the 1948 Arab-Israel War.
According to Israeli media, Syria and Israel are holding in-person meetings on the possibility of signing a normalization agreement.
Communication between the two states reportedly was facilitated by the United Arab Emirates, establishing a back channel for the United Arab Emirates to come into contact with them.
The contract is probably an extension of the Abraham Agreement, a contract mediated by the United States between Arab countries and Israel.
The Abraham Agreement was a top-down approach by Donald Trump during his first term as President of the United States and his first term to formalize relations with Israel in Arab countries.
They were signed by the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in August and September 2020, and soon followed by Sudan and Morocco.
Since then, Trump has worked to expand the agreement by urging more countries to sign an agreement with Israel.
Trump visited three Middle Eastern countries in May and reportedly met Syrian new president Ahmed Alsharaa, and encouraged him to normalize relations with Israel.
Analysts say they are probably on the road, but for now it’s almost impossible, according to Syrian writer and author Robin Yasin Kassab.
There is deep hostility between Syria and Israel, growing during the 1967 Arab-Israel War and Israel’s occupation of Syria-Golan.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saa said his country would insist on occupation of Golan Heights in all its deals with Syria, and Israeli forces occupying homes deep in Golan and expelling people from the area.
The normalization agreement with Israel is deeply unpopular in the Arab world.
“We are interested in protecting Israel’s essential and safe interests while adding their neighbors, such as Syria and Lebanon, to a circle of peace and normalization,” Saa said at a press conference in Jerusalem on Monday.
“Golan will continue to be part of Israel,” he said.
While most international communities view Golan as an occupied Syrian land, US President Donald Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty during his first term in office.
A senior Israeli official also told the Israeli Times on Monday that Israel and Syria are holding “high-level consultations” over a bilateral agreement that will stop hostility.
The contacts will focus on coordination on security issues, officials said they would not speculate when a full peace deal between the two enemies will become a reality.
“Can that develop beyond (security arrangements)?” the official asked. “We’ll wait and see. For now, there’s nothing concrete.”
Analysts say many Syrians will oppose giving up Goran to Israel. Still, many may welcome common sense negotiations.
“The Syrians are split… on the other hand, because people are exhausted, so no one can recognize that Syria cannot protect themselves or fight Israel. So that’s a good (alshara’s) negotiation,” Yasin Kassab said.
About a week after then-President Bashar al-Assad fled Syria in December 2024, Israeli Parliament voted for a plan to expand Syrian settlements, which are illegal under international law. Currently occupied Golan Heights has over 31,000 Israeli settlers.
Syria said it was open to peace with Israel under Al-Sharaa and would support the 1974 ceasefire agreement between the two states, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on December 8th the day Al-Assad fled to Moscow – he considered the contract Void.
Israel repeatedly attacked Syria, destroying much of its military infrastructure and seizing Syrian territory near the Syrian border with Golan Heights.
Syria will likely ask Israel to withdraw from newly occupied areas under a new non-aggression deal, but reports say Golan Heights is not yet discussed.
Recently, Israeli officials have said they are accepting business with Syria, and Netanyahu reportedly asked us to help us negotiate a special envoy.
Israeli National Security Council President Tuchi Hanegbi reportedly oversees discussions with Syrian officials. According to a senior Israeli official who spoke to during the Israeli era, the consultation includes the presence of the United States and is at a “high-level stage.”
Numbers close to Al-Sharaa reportedly want Syria to end Israeli attacks without accepting full normalization, Lebanon’s Daily Al-Akbar reported.
Syria hopes Israel’s attacks on Syrian territory will cease.
There is concern among many Syrians that Israel has expanded the height of Golan. However, it is unclear whether the Arshala government will request the return of the occupied parts.
However, Syria wanted Israel to pull out the appropriate Golan last year and the parts it occupied.
Israel also threatened that the new Syrian government would not place soldiers south of Damascus, an area near the border with Israel.
Israel has also tried to blow away sectarianism in the region and threatened to intervene to “protect Syrian Druze” amid sect-led tensions between the new Syrian government and groups belonging to the Syrian minority Druze community.
While many people in the Druze community have expressed distrust of Syria’s new government, many have also condemned the threat of Israeli intervention as a calculated stunt to cause further discord among Syrians.
Netanyahu reportedly wants a security agreement (1974 text update) with a framework for a full peace plan with Syria.
According to Axios, US Envoy Barrack claims that the problems between Syria and Israel are “solvable,” suggesting that they will start with a “non-attack agreement.”
This continued occupation of Golan would probably disrupt many Syrians.
“Even under American pressure and the ongoing threat of violence from Israel, it is far too politically difficult (in the case of Alshara),” Yasin Kassab said.
Israel reportedly has additional conditions. There are no Turkish military bases in Syria, and the existence of groups like Iran and Hezbollah, as well as the demilitarization of South Syria.