Published On 3/12/2025
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Last update: 18:33 (Mecca time)
An Israeli official said on Wednesday that Tel Aviv does not intend to withdraw in the near future from the areas it controlled following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime last year.
Israel Hayom newspaper quoted an unidentified Israeli official as saying, “The Syrian demand for the Israeli army to withdraw from the positions it established on the Syrian border and in the Mount Hermon region will not be achieved soon, due to the regime’s inability to fulfill its pledges related to preventing terrorist activities emanating from Syria towards Israel,” as he described it.
The newspaper explained that “the urgent situation in Syria will be at the top of the agenda of the upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of this month.”
The date of the meeting has not been officially determined, but Israel 24 channel reported that “the meeting between Netanyahu and Trump will be held at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, and its date is set for December 26.”
Israel Hayom explained that “the Americans are expected to accelerate communications between the two parties to reach at least fundamental understandings.”
She indicated that the understandings include “imposing restrictions on the activity of the Israeli army in areas where Shara forces are active, cooperation against terrorist organizations, and ensuring the safety of the Druze in the Druze-majority Suwayda Governorate, among other issues.”
The newspaper continued: “The United States aims for these understandings to contribute to advancing the de-escalation process, with the aim of eventually signing a long-term agreement between the two countries.”
According to the same source, “American officials fear that Israeli military reactions in Syria and Lebanon will lead to an escalation that would erase last year’s achievements.”
Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of committing war crimes in Gaza, said on Tuesday that the Israeli army would remain in this buffer zone “to ensure the security of Israeli citizens.”
He stated that Israel is determined to “protect itself against cross-border attacks and prevent hostile extremists from settling in the border areas,” as he described it. He also stressed Israel’s desire “to protect the Druze minority in Syria.”
During the past months, Syrian-Israeli talks were held with the aim of reaching a security agreement to stop Tel Aviv’s attacks on Damascus, but the agreement did not see the light of day due to Israel’s insistence on not withdrawing from the areas it occupied after the fall of Assad on December 8, 2024.
Despite Trump’s call on Israel to calm down with Syria, Tel Aviv continued its violations against Damascus’ sovereignty, through bombing and incursions that have become almost daily in recent times.