TNA Staff
The New Arab / June 11, 2025
Netanyahu has expressed interest in talks with the new Syrian administration, calling on the US to mediate negotiations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed interest in holding talks with Syria’s new administration and has asked the United States to mediate, according to two Israeli officials.
A senior Israeli official told Axios that Netanyahu was seeking to negotiate a revised security agreement that could eventually lead to a full peace deal.
If launched, the negotiations would mark the first direct engagement between Israel and Syria since 2011.
The effort comes after Netanyahu’s far-right government began engaging with the new Syrian leadership, initially through third-party channels and more recently through secret meetings, Israeli officials said.
Since the 2024 regime change, Israel has escalated airstrikes across Syria despite Damascus declaring it does not seek conflict and condemning the attacks as violations of sovereignty.
In addition, Israel seized 460 square kilometres beyond the 1967 border lines, expanding its occupation into Syria’s demilitarised buffer zone in violation of the 1974 agreement.
In parallel, the United States has shifted its stance on Syria and its new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa. Washington recently lifted some sanctions to support the country’s reconstruction following more than a decade of war.
US envoy Tom Barrack visited Israel last week before travelling to the occupied Golan Heights and the Syrian side of Mount Hermon. The week prior, he had visited Damascus, where he met Al-Sharaa and reopened the US ambassador’s residence in the capital.
In what appears to be a thaw in relations, Barrack called the conflict between Syria and Israel a “solvable problem” and suggested that the countries begin with a non-aggression agreement.
Netanyahu now hopes to build on this momentum, with the first step being US-mediated talks, the Israeli official said. He added that Netanyahu is aiming to reach preliminary agreements, possibly starting with an updated version of the 1974 disengagement deal, and eventually leading to formal peace.
“We want to try and move towards normalisation with Syria as soon as possible,” the official said.
According to the same official, President Al-Sharaa has also signalled openness to dialogue and potential agreements with Israel.
Meanwhile, a Trump-linked evangelical pastor has echoed the prospect of peace, following a meeting with Al-Sharaa in Damascus. Rev. Johnnie Moore, a former White House adviser, and Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre visited the presidential palace this week.
They said their visit was not officially intended to discuss Israeli-Syrian relations, but the subject came up during their talks.
“I think peace is very possible, if not probable but the first priority has to be Syria focusing on Syria,” Moore told Reuters after the visit.
He said Al-Sharaa had outlined his concerns but also spoke of the potential for a positive future.
