Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani has been more outspoken about Israel than in the past. Syria has been mostly focused on improving relations with other countries and has tended to downplay tensions with Israel over the past year. Now, however, Damascus might feel the time is right to be more open about its policies regarding Israel.
Shaibani “said on Saturday that negotiations on a security deal with Israel were focused on areas Israel has recently occupied and excluded the broader issue of the Golan Heights,” Saudi Arabia-based news channel Al Arabiya reported, citing an AFP report.
This matters for several reasons. It means Syria tends to think that arguing over the Golan Heights is a lost cause. It also indicates that Damascus is being very pragmatic and is not interested in wasting time. The new Syrian government is willing to change course from the Assad regime, illustrating flexibility and thinking outside the box.
The Syrian government enjoys support from the US as well as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and other countries. Shaibani is hinting that Damascus and Jerusalem may be able to reach more arrangements in the future, following the talks held in Paris in January.
Israel has chosen to be skeptical and often hostile to the new government in Damascus. The skepticism initially was that the new government would fall apart and be replaced by warring factions. Over time, this was replaced by hostility to Damascus, asserting that the new government was “jihadist,” even though Damascus opposed enemies of Israel, such as Iran and Hezbollah.
When the new government in Syria came to power, the IDF was ordered to carry out wide-ranging airstrikes on Syria, destroying the former Assad regime’s military assets. The IDF also took over the peak of Mount Hermon and areas in a buffer zone along the border.
Over the past year, the IDF has continued to operate in Syrian villages along the buffer zone. It has also been ordered to carry out airstrikes on Damascus, with Jerusalem saying it is supporting the Druze in Syria.
The US and other countries, however, have appeared to be surprised and confused by Israel’s aggression. They seem to think: Why ruin relations with a new government in Damascus and try to make it hostile to Israel?
Over the past year, Israeli politicians have suggested targeting Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and routinely refer to him as a “jihadist.”
The language against Sharaa is more extreme than the language against the Assad regime, which has led to questions about whether some in Jerusalem preferred Assad as a weak leader more than the new Syria.
Syria’s leaders have taken this in stride and have adopted a wait-and-see approach.
Since the overthrow of Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel has sent troops into the UN-patrolled buffer zone that separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights.
WINDS OF change may be on the horizon, Al Arabiya reported.
“Israel and Syria’s new authorities have held several rounds of direct talks in recent months, and after negotiations in January – and under US pressure – they agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism as they edged towards a security agreement,” the report said.
Shaibani says the current talks focus on Israel’s extended control of the buffer zone on the Golan. Syria wants the new areas Israel has occupied to be returned to Syria.
To reach a security deal, Israel should “respect the security of Syria and withdraw from these territories” recently occupied, Al Arabiya reported.
“These negotiations will certainly not lead to forcing an acceptance of what has imposed by Israel in southern Syria,” Shaibani said. “The end of these negotiations will be the withdrawal of Israel from the areas where it advanced.”
Syria also wants the threat of Israeli airstrikes to stop.
Israel, US, Syria meeting changed tone of relationships
Ever since a trilateral meeting between Israel, the US, and Syria in January in Paris, there has been a change in tone. Syria has now worked with the Syrian Democratic Forces in eastern Syria to extend Syrian control over northeast Syria.
This has changed Syria and means that talks with Israel may now enable accommodation with the Druze in Sweida or a way to get through other hurdles. Reports on social media that Syria may be interested in opposing Hezbollah more in Lebanon certainly could be linked to Damascus’s new policy.
The reports about Syria’s position on Israel have been highlighted in Beirut-based newspaper Al Akhbar, which is pro-Iranian. This shows that Hezbollah may be concerned. If Syria-Israel tensions are reduced, then more focus might be on Hezbollah. Iran would prefer to see Syria and Israel at odds.
Now, cooler heads may be prevailing.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also met with Shaibani and Mazloum Abdi, the head of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led coalition.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Commander-in-Chief of Syrian Democratic Forces Mazloum Abdi at the Munich Security Conference,” the US Department of State said. “The Secretary affirmed the United States’ support for a Syria that is stable, at peace with its neighbors, and that protects the rights of all its ethnic and religious minority groups. Secretary Rubio welcomed the Syrian government’s commitment to fully cooperate with the United States and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
“The Secretary emphasized the importance of implementing the permanent ceasefire and integration agreement in northeast Syria, and ensuring full respect and safety for the rights of all Syrians,” the State Department said.