Syrian president seeks security deal with Israel
Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara said in an interview with Al Jazeera that Syria is trying to conclude a security agreement with Israel.
He said an agreement could pave the way for a comprehensive peace between the two countries without compromising Syria’s rights to the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed in 1981.
Sharaa said Syria is trying to involve a broad group of countries to pressure Israel to adopt a more balanced policy towards Syria.
“We avoid getting into conflicts,” he added.
Shortly after former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fell to advancing rebel forces led by Sharaa in December 2024, Israeli troops entered Syria and captured strategic areas. Israeli troops advanced into a demilitarized zone within Syria, including the Syrian side of Mount Hermon overlooking the capital Damascus. Since then, the Israeli army has launched attacks on Syria and detained people from within the country.
Israel has also intervened in what it calls missions to protect the Druze ethnic minority in southwestern Syria.
Israeli forces on Sunday bombed areas in Syria and destroyed an electrical transformer in the village of Maariyah, leaving homes without electricity, Syrian state news agency SANA said.
Sharaa’s comments coincided with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ visit to Syria, the first visit by a United Nations chief to the country since 2009.
In his statement regarding X, Guterres called for respect for Syria’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity.
“Israel’s violation of the 1974 Withdrawal of Forces Agreement is unacceptable and must be stopped,” Guterres said.
Sharaa, who has sought to improve Syria’s image last year, became the first Syrian president to attend the UN General Assembly in New York since 1967. His government is trying to rebuild international ties and the local economy after nearly 14 years of war and decades of isolation and death under Assad family rule.
Sharaa also said his government was “not considering military intervention” in Lebanon. Iran-backed Shiite Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Shara have fought on opposing sides in the Syrian civil war.
Earlier this year, US President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Sharaa about fighting Hezbollah after criticizing Israel for killing too many civilians in Lebanon.
