Netanyahu says Israel is negotiating security agreement with Syria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday that negotiations on a security agreement with neighbouring Syria are under way.

The statement said the prerequisites for an agreement are the demilitarization of the border region in south-western Syria and the protection of the Druze religious minority, which Israel considers an ally.

Netanyahu had already hinted at the talks a few days ago.

The negotiations have been conducted in secret for months. Syrian sources said the country’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met with an Israeli delegation in Paris in August.

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa also confirmed that negotiations were being held, but he emphasized that an agreement would not mean normalization with Israel.

The negotiations are aimed at regulating the presence of Syrian and Israeli troops and security forces in the border area. Israel wants to prevent Iran-backed militias or armed Islamist groups that are hostile to Israel from settling in the area.

Since a rebel alliance ousted longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad last December, the Israeli military has attacked targets in Syria hundreds of times. According to Israel, these attacks have destroyed weapons depots and military equipment.

Israel and Syria have been officially at war since 1948 and no peace treaty has ever been signed. The Golan Heights, which Israel occupied in 1967 and annexed in 1981, are a key point of contention.