WatanU.S. media reports reveal that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed, during a meeting with Washington’s Ambassador to Ankara and Special Envoy to Syria, Tom Barak, his desire to begin negotiations with Syria’s new administration. He also requested U.S. mediation to facilitate this diplomatic path.
According to the Axios news site, which cited two senior Israeli officials speaking on condition of anonymity, Netanyahu’s government first reached out to Syria’s new leadership through indirect messages, followed by secret meetings in third countries.
The officials stated that Netanyahu views Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s reported willingness to build strong relations with the U.S. as a “diplomatic opportunity.”
They added that Netanyahu is ready to enter negotiations aimed at establishing a new security agreement with Syria and potentially reaching a comprehensive peace deal. If realized, this would mark the first official contact between the two countries since 2011.
Last week, Netanyahu reportedly informed the U.S. special envoy to Syria of his intention to launch negotiations with the Damascus government under American mediation.
The Israeli side also conveyed its intention to maintain its military presence in Syria until a new agreement is reached.
Tom Barak, the U.S. envoy, had previously stated that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is open to dialogue with Israel.
Netanyahu’s stated goal is to update the 1974 Disengagement Agreement with modifications and to work toward establishing new security arrangements in preparation for a peace treaty.
Since 1967, Israel has occupied most of the Syrian Golan Heights. It exploited the power vacuum following the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad’s regime to seize the Syrian buffer zone and declared the collapse of the 1974 disengagement accord.
Israel also took control of Mount Hermon (Jabal al-Sheikh), a strategic mountain just 35 kilometers from Damascus, situated between Syria and Lebanon. It overlooks Israel and is visible from Jordan. The mountain has four peaks, the highest of which reaches 2,814 meters.
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