Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered southern Syria today, Wednesday, 19 November, accompanied by a delegation of officials from his government.
The delegation included, alongside the prime minister, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.
Netanyahu said on X, “I visited the Golan Heights area in Syria, received an operational briefing, and met with the fighters who bravely defend Israel every day… I am proud of our fighters.”
He attached to his post photos from inside the occupied Syrian territory.
“Netanyahu and Katz’s tour in Syrian territory comes in the context of US efforts to sign a security agreement between Israel and Syria,” according to Israel’s Channel 12 on X.
In a related development, the Israeli domestic security agency Shin Bet announced that it had uncovered a weapons smuggling network in northern Israel and arrested 23 people involved in the case, including 18 Israeli citizens.
How far has the agreement progressed?
Following the meeting between Syria’s transitional president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Washington on 10 November, the Syrian Foreign Ministry published a statement saying that the meeting, which lasted for more than an hour, discussed several issues, including the security agreement between Syria and Israel.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the US side confirmed its support for reaching a security agreement with Israel aimed at enhancing regional stability.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa ruled out in an interview with Fox News on 11 November Syria’s accession to the Abraham Accords, explaining that “the situation in Syria is different from that of the countries that signed the agreement.”
Al-Sharaa said, “We have a border with Israel, which has occupied the Golan since 1967, and we are not currently about to enter into direct negotiations. Perhaps the United States under President Trump can play a role in this file.”
In his interview with the Washington Post, the Syrian president went into further detail about the agreement with Israel, criticizing its expansionist policy and its demands for disarmament in southern Syria.
The Syrian president reiterated that Syria is engaged in indirect negotiations, saying, “We are engaged in direct negotiations with Israel, and we have gone a long way toward reaching an agreement, but to reach a final agreement, Israel must withdraw to the positions it held before 8 December 2024.”
He again stressed that the United States supports these negotiations, along with many international actors “who support our position in this regard, and today we found that Trump also supports our position and will push as quickly as possible to solve this issue.”
US President Donald Trump said in remarks to reporters after he met with al-Sharaa that the United States is working with Israel on relations with Syria, saying, “We are also working with Israel on an understanding with Syria and an understanding with everyone.”
As for Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that judgment on the new Syrian president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, should not be based on photos or statements, but on what he “actually does on the ground”, in reference to al-Sharaa’s recent visit to Washington and his meetings with US officials.
In an interview with Australian journalist Erin Molan on 13 November, Netanyahu expressed his desire “to reach an arrangement that guarantees the disarmament of southwestern Syria and provides lasting protection for the Druze minority there.”
Expanding settlements in the Syrian Golan
For his part, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that Israeli settlement activities in the occupied Syrian Golan constitute a violation of international law and UN resolutions.
The Secretary General added, in a report published on the UN’s official website on 17 November, that the Israeli cabinet had approved allocating around 11 million dollars to support the expansion of settlements in the occupied Syrian Golan.
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