Syria, 'Israel' holding backchannel talks on 'security coordination'
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Damascus and Tel Aviv hold rare direct meetings, with US backing and Emirati mediation following al-Assad’s ouster.
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An Israeli soldier loads a tank near the so-called Alpha Line separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from the rest of Syria, in the town of Majdal Shams, Dec. 11, 2024 (AP)
In a significant shift following years of hostility, “Israel” and Syria's interim government have held multiple face-to-face meetings in recent weeks aimed at reducing tensions along the 1974 ceasefire line, five sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters. The direct talks, described by the sources as unprecedented since the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, mark a quiet but notable recalibration in the region’s dynamics.
The secret meetings took place in the 1974 ceasefire line, including in territory occupied by the Israeli regime, and came amid a broader US effort to stabilize Syria’s frontier. They build on months of indirect backchannel negotiations conducted through intermediaries following the rise of Islamist forces in Damascus and the toppling of Assad in December by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
According to two Syrian officials, two Western diplomats, and one regional intelligence source, the direct engagement represents a step toward deconfliction. On the Syrian side, talks are being led by Ahmad al-Dalati, a senior security figure who assumed governorship of Quneitra, which borders the occupied Golan Heights, shortly after Assad’s ouster.
Dalati was also appointed this week to oversee security in Sweida, a southern city with a predominant Druze majority with whom the transitional Syrian government had confrontations earlier this year.
Al-Sharaa engaging in talks with 'Israel'
While the identity of the Israeli participants remains undisclosed, two of the sources confirmed they were high-ranking security officials.
Earlier this month, Syrian interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa acknowledged indirect talks with “Israel” aimed at lowering tensions, a rare admission that followed reports of Emirati mediation. The meetings, however, have now progressed beyond indirect channels.
The Israeli regime occupied the Syrian Golan Heights during the 1967 war and expanded its control further after Assad’s fall, citing the radical origins of Syria’s new rulers as justification. Over the past decade, “Israel” has waged an extensive bombing campaign across Syria, targeting military infrastructure and lobbying the US to maintain Syria’s fragmentation.
Yet in recent weeks, those airstrikes have seen a sharp decline, and rhetoric from Tel Aviv has softened.
Analysts suggest the diplomatic shift was catalyzed by a landmark May 14 meeting between US President Donald Trump and al-Sharaa in Riyadh, which signaled a new American approach toward Damascus and indicated a desire for “Israel” to reach a modus vivendi with Syria’s new leadership.
'Trump hints Syria open to normalization
According to sources close to the negotiations, cited by Reuters, the current dialogue is limited to military and security coordination, focusing on preventing cross-border clashes and curbing Israeli raids on Syrian villages near the frontier. However, insiders believe the talks could lay the groundwork for broader political engagement.
“For now, they are about peace, as in the absence of war, rather than normalization,” one person familiar with the talks told Reuters.
President Trump, following his meeting with Sharaa, hinted that the Syrian leader was open to normalizing ties with “Israel” in the future, though he cautioned that such progress would require time. Sharaa himself has not confirmed that position publicly but has stated support for a return to the 1974 ceasefire terms, which established a UN-monitored buffer zone in the Golan Heights.
'Israel' violates Syrian territories
Israeli occupation forces breached Syrian territory early Tuesday morning, advancing between the villages of al-Samadaniyah al-Sharqiyah and al-Ajraf in the countryside of Quneitra, according to local Syrian sources.
The incursion involved two tanks and two military vehicles, marking yet another violation of Syrian sovereignty by the Israeli military.
This latest maneuver adds to growing concerns over Tel Aviv’s increasingly provocative activities near the occupied Golan Heights. The Israeli military has frequently carried out airstrikes on Syrian territory, destroying scores of Syrian military equipment. In
Read more: 'Israel' launches strikes near Syrian presidential palace
