Syrian transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa said on Wednesday, September 17, that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security agreement may lead to results in the coming days, according to Reuters.
Al-Sharaa told reporters in Damascus that a security deal with Israel is a “necessity,” stressing it must respect Syria’s airspace and territorial integrity and be placed under UN monitoring.
Earlier Wednesday, the American news site Axios reported, citing two informed sources, that Israel had presented Syria with a detailed proposal for a new security arrangement several weeks ago, including a “map of demilitarized zones” extending from Damascus to the Israeli border.
No US pressure on Syria
The Syrian president denied that the United States was exerting any pressure on Syria, saying it was playing the role of mediator, according to Reuters.
Al-Sharaa noted that “Israel has carried out more than 1,000 airstrikes on Syria and over 400 ground incursions since December 8,” arguing that Israel’s actions contradict America’s stated policy of a stable and unified Syria, calling the situation “extremely dangerous.”
He added that Syria had sought the withdrawal of Israeli forces, but Israel wanted to retain its positions in strategic areas it seized after December 8, 2024, including Mount Hermon.
Al-Sharaa revealed that Syria and Israel had been just “four to five days away” from laying the groundwork for a security deal in July, before the outbreak of events in Suwayda (southern Syria) disrupted the talks.
Golan “a major issue”
The Syrian president said that if a security agreement is reached, other deals could follow (without specifying which). However, he emphasized that a peace treaty or normalization, such as the “Abraham Accords”, is “not currently on the table.”
He added that it was premature to discuss the fate of the occupied Golan Heights, calling it “a major issue.” In his words: “It is a difficult matter, you have negotiations between a Damascene and a Jew.”
Israel fully occupied the Syrian Golan Heights following the Six-Day War of 1967. After the war, Syria refused to enter into negotiations with Israel. Under the 1974 disengagement agreement following the October 6, 1973 war, the city of Quneitra was returned to Syria. In 1981, the Israeli Knesset enacted a law applying Israeli law to the Golan, effectively annexing it. The UN condemned the measure in Resolution 497 that year.
Israeli security proposal
According to Axios, Israel’s proposal is modeled on the peace treaty it signed with Egypt in 1979 (Camp David), which divided the Sinai Peninsula into three zones (A, B, C), each with different security arrangements and varying levels of demilitarization based on their proximity to the Israeli border.
The site described Israel’s demands as “extreme,” requiring Syria to accept a broad demilitarized area, a no-fly zone over its own territory, and no changes on the Israeli side of the border.
The proposal reportedly envisions dividing the area southwest of Damascus into “three zones,” with Syria allowed to maintain different levels of forces and types of weapons depending on the zone. Key terms include:
Expanding the buffer zone on the Syrian side by 2 km.
Banning Syrian military forces and heavy weapons in the strip adjacent to the buffer zone, nearest to Israel.
Allowing Syria to keep police and internal security forces only.
Designating the entire area from southwest Damascus to the Israeli border as a no-fly zone for Syrian aircraft.
One source told Axios the proposal’s “central principle” was to preserve an “air corridor” to Iran via Syria, allowing Israel to conduct potential future strikes against Iran.
A Syrian government official told Al Jazeera channel on Wednesday, September 17, that no security agreement with Israel could be discussed unless Israel withdrew to its pre-December 8 positions (before the fall of the Assad regime).
The official stressed that any deal must be based on the 1974 disengagement agreement, ensuring Syrian sovereignty and addressing Israel’s repeated threats.
According to Axios, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is interested in arranging a meeting with al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly later this month. However, an Israeli official said the likelihood of this happening remains “slim.”
Speaking to Syria’s state-run al-Ikhbariya channel on September 12, al-Sharaa was asked about the possibility of resuming negotiations with Israel during his visit to New York for the UN General Assembly. He replied: “We did not go into these details, but it may happen.”
Al-Sharaa is attending the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, becoming the first Syrian president to participate in the event since 1967, according to Syria’s state news agency (SANA) on September 10.
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