Latest news with #SyriaIsrael
Arab News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
The Levant swings between dreams and deals
The talk of a new Middle Eastern 'deal' we have been hearing over the past few days is jarring. The agreement reportedly being cooked up sees Syria cede the Golan Heights to Israel in return for the Lebanese city of Tripoli. The official reactions of Lebanese parties, of course, mixed outrage and condemnation. However, those who understand the intentions they hold behind the scenes and see the implications of Benjamin Netanyahu shaping Washington's vision and approach to the Middle East will address this development with the seriousness it deserves. Moreover, this apparent deal was leaked as Israel tightened its control over Iran's airspace and expanded its list of targets inside Iran. Not only that, but it also coincided with the tacit alignment of Washington, Tel Aviv and Ankara's visions regarding all regional crises, from the Kurdish question to what remains of the Palestinian struggle. Some observers now believe that the Washington-Tel Aviv axis has new priorities with regard to the sectarian dynamics of the Levant, at least temporarily, following the transition from Barack Obama and Joe Biden to Donald Trump. The irony, however, is this same American (Republican) and Israeli (Likud) right had originally bet on 'political Shiism' in the region during the buildup to the invasion of Iraq. Back then, it was the American neoconservatives, working closely alongside the Israeli right, that steered George W. Bush's presidency via his White House advisers and Pentagon officials. Some observers now believe that the Washington-Tel Aviv axis has new priorities with regard to the sectarian dynamics of the Levant Eyad Abu Shakra At the time, the US was also trying to overcome a trauma, that of 9/11. The neoconservatives exploited this catastrophe to occupy Iraq, which was eventually handed over to Iran. The leader of the Coalition Provisional Authority that oversaw Iraq's transition, Paul Bremer, even boasted that his administration had 'ended a thousand years of Sunni rule' in Iraq. As the saying goes, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since 2003. To begin with, despite the Democrats' sympathy for the so-called Arab Spring in several Arab countries, they and the Israeli leadership refrained from supporting the Syrian uprising against Bashar Assad's regime. Later, they effectively turned a blind eye to Iran's military intervention to rescue the Syrian regime. Moreover, the Democratic leadership was keen on ensuring the success of the nuclear deal it had signed with Iran after the Muscat negotiations. As a result of this deal, and the policies pursued by the Obama and Biden administrations, Tehran felt empowered to move freely across the region. In contrast, Netanyahu and his Likud allies never forgot their apprehensions about Iran's role in the Arab arena and continued to seek containment. However, it is clear that Israel has been the biggest beneficiary of Iran's role in the region. It was happy to see Iran become a 'bogeyman' that frightened Arab states and compelled them to rush toward normalization with Tel Aviv in pursuit of protection. Moreover, Israel has never truly been concerned by the bombastic rhetoric of the so-called resistance regimes and parties, so long as its borders remained secure … and the possibility of expanding them remained available. Still, in one way or another, the events of Oct. 7, 2023 (the Al-Aqsa Flood operation launched from the Gaza Strip), was a replay of 9/11. That day undoubtedly marked a turning point for regional alliances, leading to a shift in priorities. Without minimizing the tragedy in Gaza, the most dangerous aspect of Israel's political response was Netanyahu's stated intention to 'reshape the Middle East.' The Al-Aqsa Flood operation undoubtedly marked a turning point for regional alliances, leading to a shift in priorities Eyad Abu Shakra In Trump, Netanyahu found his long-sought prize. Trump is an ideal partner in drawing this map over the rubble of political entities that never meant anything to either of them, and at the expense of peoples who have never factored into their political calculations. Indeed, the future of Palestine has rarely seemed as bleak and hopeless since 1948. As for Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, whose borders were drawn by the Sykes-Picot Agreement (which completed what the Balfour Declaration had begun), they may now need to brace for a world in which Turkiye is the region's second power, behind Israel. Lebanon's most sectarian non-Sunni hard-liners likely would not object, in my view, to ceding more than half of the Sunni population and giving up Tripoli (and Akkar and Dinniyeh), if Washington and Tel Aviv guaranteed 'privileges' for the Christians and Shiites. In fact, many Lebanese Christians have lost hope in the very idea of 'Greater Lebanon,' which was born in 1920 and saw Tripoli and other areas added to the country. And many Shiite extremists would be happy to secure a demographic majority by reducing the number of Sunnis in the country. As for Syria, the Sunni majority seems well placed to strengthen its position and to address the fears of the Alawite, Christian, Druze and Kurdish minorities through a deal between the US and Turkiye. Moreover, it is worth keeping an eye on the Syrian-Iraqi border amid the radical shifts and consequential negotiations underway in the Kurdish arena. So, one wonders: will dreams align with the fine print of the deals? Or are we back to the mess of trial and error?
The National
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Syria willing to work with US to revive 1974 disengagement deal with Israel
Syria has said it wants to work with the US to reimplement the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel, which created a UN-patrolled buffer zone separating the two countries' forces. During a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani expressed Syria's 'aspiration to co-operate with the United States to return to the 1974 disengagement agreement', the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Israel violated the agreement when its troops entered the zone after the rebel forces toppled Syrian president Bashar Al Assad in December. Washington has been driving diplomatic efforts towards a normalisation deal between Syria and Israel, with US envoy Thomas Barrack saying last week that peace between the two was needed. Speaking to The New York Times, Mr Barrack confirmed this week that Syria and Israel were engaging in 'meaningful' US-brokered talks to end their conflict. Israel launched hundreds of air strikes on military targets in Syria and carried out incursions deeper into the country's south after the overthrow of Mr Al Assad, whose regime survived nearly 14 years of civil war with the help of Iranian and Iran-backed forces. Syria's new authorities refrained from responding to the Israeli attacks and admitted to holding indirect talks with Israel to reduce tensions. The two countries have no official diplomatic relations, with Syria not recognising Israel and the two nations technically at war since 1948. Israel conquered around two-thirds of the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, before annexing it in 1981 in a move not recognised by any country other than the United States. A year after the 1973 war, the two reached an agreement on a disengagement line. As part of the deal, an 80km-long United Nations-patrolled buffer zone was created to the east of Israeli-occupied territory, separating it from the Syrian-controlled side. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday that his country had an 'interest' in normalising ties with Syria and neighbouring Lebanon. He added, however, that the Golan Heights 'will remain part of the State of Israel' under any future peace agreement. Syrian state media reported on Wednesday that 'statements concerning signing a peace agreement with the Israeli occupation at this time are considered premature'. During the call with Mr Rubio, Mr Al Shibani received a formal invitation 'to visit Washington as soon as possible', the Syrian Foreign Ministry said on Friday. It said the two men also discussed Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara's participation in the upcoming UN General Assembly. Mr Al Shibani visited the UN headquarters in New York in April, where he raised Syria's new flag. He and Mr Rubio also talked about 'the Iranian threat in Syria', with Damascus expressing 'its growing concern over Iran's attempts to interfere in Syrian affairs, especially following the strikes that recently targeted Tehran', the Foreign Ministry said, referring to last month's Israel-Iran war.
Al Bawaba
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Syria's main demand to agree to a peace deal with Israel
Published June 30th, 2025 - 05:48 GMT ALBAWABA - Israeli local media said that there are great hints that Syria and Israel would agree on a peace deal by the end of the year. Any possible peace agreement between Syria and Israel would be labeled as a "historic shift in regional diplomacy," Ynet reported on Sunday. However, according to local media in Israel, Damascus has one main condition to agree on a deal with, and that is to retake control over the Al-Golan Heights area, which was taken and annexed by Israeli forces during the 1967 Six-Day War. BIG: Israel and Syria aim to reach a peace deal by year's deal includes Israel's withdrawal from all Syrian land captured after Dec. Heights would be turned into a 'peace garden.' Source: Syrian official to Israel's Channel 12 — Clash Report (@clashreport) June 28, 2025 Israeli officials revealed that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa may not ink any peace deal with Tel Aviv unless it includes a full withdrawal from the Golan Heights. The officials said the US was acknowledged of the negotiations. On the other hand, Ynet also revealed that several Syrian sources told Hezbollah-linked outlet that while al-Sharaa is open to getting a deal with Israel, his supporters oppose the idea. Moreover, U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox News on Sunday that many countries contacted him and expressed their willingness to join the Abraham Accords. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba (
LBCI
11-06-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Pro-Israel rabbi and Trump-linked pastor visit Syria, say peace is possible
Peace between Syria and Israel is "very possible," a Trump-linked evangelical Christian pastor said after he and a pro-Israel American rabbi held talks this week with Syria's Islamist leader Ahmed al-Sharaa at the presidential palace in Damascus. Rev. Johnnie Moore, a White House adviser during President Donald Trump's first term, and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, from the Jewish human rights organization Simon Wiesenthal Center, have promoted interfaith dialogue in Arab states for years. The two men met Sharaa late on Monday during a visit to Syria that they said was not aimed at discussing potential ties with Israel, though the topic came up. "I think peace is very possible, if not probable, but the first priority has to be Syria focusing on Syria," Moore told Reuters in a phone interview late on Tuesday, after they had concluded their trip. Sharaa "articulated issues of concern he has, but also the potential for a very positive future," Moore added. A Syrian presidency media official did not respond to a request for comment.
