Tel Aviv conditions retaining the Golan Heights as condition for normalization with Damascus

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar explained that Israel's continued control of the Golan Heights is a prerequisite for normalization with Syria.

In an interview with i24 News, Sa'ar added that Syria's recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights is a condition for any future agreement with the president of the Syrian transitional government, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

He stated: "If Israel is given the opportunity to reach a peace agreement or normalization with Syria, while the Golan Heights remain under our sovereignty, this is a positive thing for the future of the Israelis."

The Israeli channel quoted an informed Syrian source as saying previously that Israel and Syria would sign a peace agreement before the end of 2025. The source indicated that the agreement stipulates a gradual Israeli withdrawal from all Syrian territories it occupied after entering the buffer zone on December 8, 2024, including the summit of Mount Hermon.

Sa'ar's statements coincided with what the same channel reported, citing an informed Syrian source, who expected a full normalization agreement between Damascus and Tel Aviv to be reached before the end of 2025. The source indicated that talks are still ongoing under the auspices of the current US president, with encouragement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and at the request of President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The agreement, according to the source, includes a gradual Israeli withdrawal from the Syrian territories it seized after entering the buffer zone in December 2024, including the summit of Mount Hermon. The Golan Heights will be transformed into a "peace garden," without clarifying the issue of final sovereignty.

Two days ago, al-Shara stated that his country's authorities are working to stop the ongoing Israeli attacks on safe areas in the Quneitra Governorate in the southwest of the country.

In a statement issued by the Presidential Office, al-Shara affirmed efforts to stop "Israeli attacks through indirect negotiations via international mediators."

The statement also indicated that al-Shara met with dignitaries and notables from the Quneitra Governorate and the Golan Heights.

T/S

ANHA