Progress in Security Talks Between Syria and the Israeli Occupation

Israeli media outlets, citing a Syrian source close to President Ahmed al-Shar'a, revealed significant progress in the undeclared talks between Syria and the Israeli occupation regarding reaching a security agreement, suggesting that it may be signed in the coming period.

The past few weeks have witnessed an important breakthrough in the negotiation process, amid talk of the possibility of holding a high-level Syrian-Israeli meeting in one of the European countries, which may witness the official signing of the agreement.

The Syrian source indicated that this progress is primarily due to "the great efforts exerted by US President Donald Trump," noting that the anticipated agreement may include a diplomatic annex alongside security arrangements, and it is not ruled out that it will be signed in a direct meeting between Syrian President Ahmed al-Shar'a and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In the same context, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani had announced last month that Damascus expects to reach a security agreement with Tel Aviv before the end of the year, based on the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, with "minor modifications," and without creating new buffer zones.

In contrast, the Israeli occupation still rejects Damascus's demand for the withdrawal of the Israeli army from all points it controlled within Syrian territory after the fall of the deposed Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Sources in Israel report that the Israeli army may withdraw from some of the nine points it currently controls, but this is conditional only on signing a full peace agreement with Syria, not just a security agreement.

Coinciding with these leaks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated his rhetoric towards Syrian President Ahmed al-Shar'a, considering that the latter "has begun taking steps that Tel Aviv will not accept." The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that Netanyahu strongly attacked al-Shar'a during a meeting of the Narrow Security Cabinet (Cabinet), upon his return from a visit described as "historic" to the White House.

The Corporation quoted Netanyahu as saying: "The Golanite returned inflated from Washington and started doing everything we will not accept," referring to the nom de guerre by which al-Shar'a was previously known, adding that the Syrian president "is seeking to bring Russian forces to the Syrian-Israeli border."

The Corporation indicated that al-Shar'a had told US President Donald Trump, during his visit to Washington about a week and a half ago, that Israel violated the 1974 Disengagement Agreement after the fall of the previous regime, expanded its military presence inside Syrian territory, expelled UN forces, and carried out more than a thousand attacks, including sensitive sites such as the presidential palace and the Ministry of Defense.

The Syrian president clarified that his country refrained from military response to those violations, in order to focus on rebuilding the state in the post-fall of the previous regime.

In the same context, the Corporation mentioned that Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yisrael Katz conducted a field tour inside Syrian territory, a step that provoked widespread criticism.

Despite the Syrian government's assurances that it poses no threat to the occupation, the Israeli army continues its repeated incursions into Syrian territory, alongside launching air raids that resulted in civilian casualties and the destruction of military sites, vehicles, and weapons belonging to the Syrian army.

Syrian residents in the border areas also complain about the repeated Israeli aggressions on their agricultural lands, which are their only source of livelihood, in addition to the destruction of hundreds of dunams of forests, the arrest of civilians, the establishment of military checkpoints, and the imposition of searches on passersby.