As the Syrian and Israeli sides prepare for a second day of talks in Paris under US auspices, hopes for a security agreement are fading.
Israeli sources stated that Israeli Prime Minister “Benjamin Netanyahu” is not particularly enthusiastic about these negotiations, given Damascus’ insistence on Israel’s withdrawal from all areas it occupied after the fall of the previous regime on December 8, 2024, in addition to the removal of nine military sites and barriers erected in southern Syria, as reported by the “Yedioth Ahronoth” newspaper.
According to the same sources, “Netanyahu” rejects these Syrian demands, although the US administration considers them “logical.”
In this context, Israeli sources confirmed that the negotiations in Paris came under pressure from US President “Donald Trump” on both Israel and Syria, with the aim of achieving an agreement that contributes to stabilizing the security situation on the border, and perhaps paves the way for normalizing relations between them in the future, according to “Channel 12 Israeli.”
The Israeli delegation that met with the Syrian delegation yesterday included Israel’s ambassador to Washington, “Yehiel Leiter,” and “Netanyahu’s” military secretary, “Roman Gofman,” a candidate for the head of the Mossad, in addition to the acting head of the Israeli National Security Council, “Gil Reich.”
In contrast, the Syrian delegation is headed by Foreign Minister “Asaad Al-Shaibani,” and the head of the General Intelligence Service “Hussein Al-Salama” is participating, as a Syrian government source explained.
The same source indicated that the talks focus “mainly” on reactivating the 1974 disengagement agreement, to ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the points they advanced to after the overthrow of former President “Bashar al-Assad,” within an “equivalent security agreement that places full Syrian sovereignty above all consideration.”
For its part, Israeli sources stated that US Special Envoy “Steve Witkoff” and Special Envoy to Syria “Tom Brack” are in Paris to participate in the negotiations, according to the “Haaretz” newspaper.
Damascus is demanding that Israel adhere to the disengagement agreement signed after the last Arab-Israeli war, which defines the separation line between the areas occupied by Israel in the Golan Heights and Syrian territory.
It is noteworthy that after the fall of Assad, Israel carried out hundreds of raids on Syrian military sites, claiming to prevent the new authorities from acquiring the former army’s arsenal. Its forces also penetrated the buffer zone in the Golan, carried out ground operations, and arrested people in southern Syria.
In this regard, “Netanyahu” demanded the establishment of a buffer zone in southern Syria, which Damascus has consistently rejected. The Syrian President “Ahmed Al-Shara” had warned, during his participation in a dialogue on the sidelines of the Doha Forum last month, that Israel’s pursuit of establishing “a buffer zone… puts us in a dangerous place.”
