Enab Baladi – Omar Alaa Eldin
The June 28 statement by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, conditioning normalization with Syria on Israel’s retention of the Golan Heights, did not go unnoticed by Syrians.
The comments sparked a wave of debate and questions on social media, with opinions sharply divided. Opponents described the idea as a “surrender of land and submission to occupation,” while supporters viewed it as an opportunity to improve Syria’s situation and move beyond decades of slogans promoted by both Hafez and Bashar al-Assad.
Syria’s state-run al-Ikhbariyah TV channel quoted an unnamed official source on July 2, saying that “statements regarding peace agreements with the Israeli occupation are premature at this time.” The source added that “talks on any potential new agreements cannot take place until there is full Israeli compliance with the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and a withdrawal from all recently occupied territories.”
A Prelude to Negotiations
Wael Alwan, a researcher at the Jusoor Center for Studies, believes it is far too early to speak of the outcomes of any potential negotiations between Syria and “the Israeli entity,” as numerous details remain to be placed on the negotiating table.
Speaking to Enab Baladi, Alwan said that the Syrian government is indeed serious about achieving peace and restoring full ceasefire agreements, with Israel committing to them, as a prelude to sitting down at the negotiation table and discussing all relevant issues.
The United States, according to the researcher, is exerting pressure on Syria to enter into broader regional peace agreements, including normalization with Israel. However, Washington recognizes that unresolved matters remain—most notably the presence of Israeli soldiers stationed in areas inside Syrian territory, which they entered following the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024.
The preconditions for negotiation, Alwan noted, include a full Israeli withdrawal from all areas it entered, and a return to the terms of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.
Negotiations Will Not End as Tel Aviv Wants
It appears that the Syrian government has not officially responded to the “trial balloons” launched by the United States and Israel regarding entering normalization agreements, according to political analyst Firas Alawi, speaking to Enab Baladi.
Alawi believes that the Syrian government is carefully calculating its steps in this matter, fearing the reaction of the Syrian street and its allies.
The political analyst pointed out the necessity of coordination with Arab countries and allies, especially Saudi Arabia.
Typically, in negotiations, each party raises the bar of demands, Alawi explained, noting that Israelis set a high initial negotiating threshold, but this can change once serious talks begin.
Alawi does not believe that the Syrian government will agree to all Israeli demands, especially the request by Gideon Sa’ar to retain sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Instead, he expects the negotiations to be long-term and not to end as Tel Aviv officials wish.
Alawi further believes that Damascus and its team will move toward developing the 1974 Disengagement Agreement by expanding it concerning southern Syria and redistributing the deployment of existing weapons, while he does not think Damascus is heading toward “full normalization.”
According to Alawi, the Golan Heights could become a demilitarized zone or see an increase in the activities and missions of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).
On June 30, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to renew the mandate of the UN force monitoring the disengagement in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights (UNDOF) for six months.
UNDOF was established on May 31, 1974, and since then, the forces have continued their work supervising the implementation of the disengagement agreement.
Last week, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, reaffirmed that the force “still plays a critical role and continues to make every effort to maintain the disengagement.”
Peace in Exchange for Recognition of Annexation
Yasser Manaa, a researcher specializing in Israeli affairs, sees Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s statements about Israel’s willingness to retain the Golan Heights in exchange for normalizing relations with Syria as a shift in Israeli discourse—from the logic of “land for peace” to “peace in exchange for recognition of annexation.”
In an interview with Enab Baladi, Manaa argued that “Israel no longer talks about compromises but seeks to solidify the reality of occupation through political tools, foremost among them normalization.” He added that Sa’ar is not presenting a negotiation offer as much as proposing an equation based on “legalizing control” rather than dismantling it.
According to Manaa, this indicates Israel’s exploitation of the current regional moment, including Syrian weakness and Arab rapprochement with Israel, to reshape the assumed negotiation terms.
Israeli officials, as reported by Yedioth Ahronoth on June 30, have ruled out President Ahmad al-Sharaa agreeing to a peace deal without Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights. According to the newspaper, the deal is therefore purely a security agreement, with the United States aware of and involved in the discussions.
Manaa sees the difference in viewpoints between officials who spoke to the newspaper and Sa’ar’s statements not as a “strategic split” but rather a tactical disagreement.
He adds that there is consensus within the Israeli political establishment—both right and center—that the Golan is “Israeli de facto” and that there will be no reversal, but the disagreement lies in how to manage this file in the regional context.
Manaa also noted that some politicians believe the “Syrian regime” (the new Syrian government), despite its recent formation, will not willingly legitimize the occupation. Thus, any bet on normalization with it in this context may be a political illusion.
Conversely, another current thinks the new Syrian government might be willing to make concessions within a broader regional deal, especially if it secures international legitimacy and long-term political survival.
The Israeli affairs researcher expects that if Damascus does not yield to the demands of Netanyahu’s government, the future will be an “unofficial truce between Israel and Syria.” He added, “We may return to the original 1974 disengagement agreement or things may remain as they are.”
The Position of the Golan’s People and the Legal Status
Article One of the constitutional declaration signed by Syrian Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa on March 13 states that “The Syrian Arab Republic is an independent sovereign state, a unified geographic and political entity that cannot be divided, and no part of it may be relinquished.”
Article Seven commits the state to preserving Syria’s territorial unity, criminalizing calls for division or secession, foreign intervention, or seeking external support.
According to Anwar al-Bunni, director of the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Research, the Syrian government has no right to negotiate or sign peace agreements with other states.
Al-Bunni told Enab Baladi that “the current transitional government does not represent the people since it is unelected, and there is no elected parliament to ratify any agreement to be signed.” He added that any agreement signed by an elected president requires parliamentary ratification.
He also pointed out the difficulty for other states to sign agreements with a provisional government, emphasizing that “anything signed represents only those who signed it, not the Syrian people.”
On July 1, the occupied Golan’s residents issued a statement, widely circulated in media and referred to as the “National Covenant.”
Published on the Facebook page of the “Civil Gathering of the Golan’s People,” the statement highlighted that Quneitra Governorate, the heart of the Golan, continues to suffer from Israeli occupation assaults, land bulldozing, and house demolitions, while hundreds of thousands of displaced Golanis since the June 1967 defeat remain scattered across five Syrian provinces.
The document stressed the need to unify the voices of the Golanis inside the occupied territories to consolidate their political, service, and constitutional rights. The signatories affirmed that their demands “are not mere factional claims but national and moral obligations.”
The Golanis insisted on their full right to return to their occupied lands, based on UN resolutions, rejecting any understandings or agreements that undermine or relinquish this right.
The statement warned against attempts to merge their gatherings within other provinces, considering it “an attempt to erase the Golan identity and a pretext to close the Golan file internationally,” also paving the way for the abolition of Quneitra Governorate.
Political and Strategic Importance
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the final stages of the Six-Day War (June 1967).
In 1981, Israel unilaterally annexed the Golan, a move not internationally recognized.
However, the United States recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan on March 25, 2019.
The Golan hosts over 30 Jewish settlements with an estimated 20,000 settlers, while approximately 20,000 Syrians, mostly Druze, live in the area, according to a BBC report translated by Enab Baladi.
For Israel, the heights provide an excellent vantage point to monitor Syrian movements, with terrain offering natural defense against any military advances from Syria.
The region is also a critical water source for the arid area, as rainfall collected in the Golan drains into the Jordan River, supplying about one-third of Israel’s water needs.
Strategically, the Golan lies 31 miles west of Damascus, overlooking southern Lebanon, northern Israel, and a large part of southern Syria.
Known for its fertile volcanic soil, the area supports vineyards, orchards, livestock, and hosts Israel’s only ski resort.
Israel raises the bar for “peace,” while Damascus is in no hurry Enab Baladi.
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