Israel and Syria have been in direct contact and have held in-person meetings in recent weeks aimed at calming tensions and preventing conflicts in the two long-standing enemy border areas, five people said, according to Reuters.
It marks the key developments of relationships on both sides that have been on the other side of the Middle East conflict for decades as the US encourages new HTS-led rulers in Damascus to establish relations between Israel and Israel.
They also built up a back-channel talk through intermediaries as the HTS-led group defeated Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad in December, said two Syrian and two Western sources, as well as local sources familiar with the issue.
Sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subjects of two countries with no official connections and no history of hostility. In-person meetings and their scope have not been previously reported.
On the Syrian side, sources said the contact was led by senior official Ahmad al-Dalati, who was appointed governor of Kneitra, adjacent to Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, after Assad’s collapse. Earlier this week, Dalati was responsible for security in South Sweida, home to Syrian minority.
Reuters could not determine who joined Israel’s side, but two sources said they were security officials.
Three of the sources said there have been several first-person meetings in the border areas, including Israel-controlled territories.
Israeli Foreign Ministry and Syrian officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Earlier this month, Syrian interim ruler Ahmed al-Shara, confirmed indirect talks with Israel, which he said was intended to calm tensions, according to a Reuters report.
Israel has occupied Syrian Golan Heights since the 1967 Arab-Israel War and took more territory in the aftermath of Assad’s expulsion in December.
MNA