Israel’s official broadcasting authority reported on Sunday that Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer will meet this week with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani as part of efforts to reach security understandings between the two sides.
اضافة اعلان
The authority cited unnamed Israeli and Syrian sources, saying that Dermer will meet with Al-Shibani this week to discuss security understandings, without specifying the location of the meeting.
As of 20:30 GMT, Syrian authorities had not commented on the report by the Israeli broadcasting authority.
The new Syrian administration, in office since late December 2024, has not posed a threat to Tel Aviv. Despite this, the Israeli army has repeatedly penetrated Syrian territory and carried out airstrikes that killed civilians and destroyed military sites, vehicles, weapons, and ammunition belonging to the Syrian army.
Since 1967, Israel has occupied most of the Syrian Golan Heights and exploited the events of Bashar Al-Assad’s ouster in late 2024 to expand its occupation.
The Israeli broadcasting authority noted that “Dermer has previously met several times with the Syrian minister to lay the groundwork for a security agreement.”
U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack is reportedly “pushing for the upcoming meeting after meeting both sides in recent months.”
The authority added that Al-Shibani is “close to Syrian President Ahmad Al-Shara,” who stated two weeks ago that Syria is conducting “advanced talks with Israel regarding a security agreement, including the reinstatement of a ceasefire and arrangements preserving Syria’s sovereignty, with possible confidence-building measures that could pave the way for a future peace agreement.”
On August 20, Al-Shibani met with an Israeli delegation in Paris to discuss “de-escalation and non-interference in Syrian affairs” and reaching understandings supporting regional stability, according to Syria’s SANA agency. This followed reports from Hebrew media about a meeting between Dermer, accompanied by Barrack, and Al-Shibani.
On July 24, Barrack tweeted that “senior Israeli and Syrian ministers (unnamed) agreed to dialogue as part of de-escalation efforts, during a meeting in Paris.”
A day later, Israeli private Channel 13 reported, citing a “senior official” without naming him, that Dermer met Al-Shibani in Paris in Barrack’s presence, describing the meeting as “extremely important.”
Since July 19, Suwayda (southern Syria) has observed a ceasefire following a week-long armed conflict between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes that left hundreds dead.
Israel reportedly exploited the situation, citing “protection of Druze” to escalate aggression against Syria, which Damascus considers a blatant intervention in its internal affairs. Syria has demanded that Israel comply with the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement.
—(Agencies)
