The Israeli foreign minister has declared a deteriorating prospect for reaching an agreement with Syria, stating that the two sides are now “farther from agreement than they were only weeks ago” and that “the gaps between them have widened with the emergence of new demands.”
These remarks came a day after the Israeli prime minister’s office firmly denied media reports alleging that Benjamin Netanyahu had refused to sign a security agreement with Syria in September.
Meanwhile, tensions have flared once again on the Syrian front. Widespread anger has swept through the communities of Quneitra, where residents condemned what they described as recent Israeli military policies aimed at imposing new realities on the ground.
Mohammed al-Saeed, director of Quneitra’s media office, stated that calls for calm had lost their impact following the latest escalation, which targeted areas in Quneitra and the town of Beit Jinn. He reported that residents had assembled at several locations to protest ongoing Israeli incursions, which resulted in casualties.
Al-Saeed stressed that “leaving the land has been an unacceptable option for the people of Quneitra since the setback of June 1967,” noting that remaining in their villages was itself a form of resistance. He accused the Israeli occupation of seeking to drive residents into displacement by sabotaging vital services and cutting communications in villages near military outposts.
On the diplomatic front, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement asserting that “matters never reached the stage of agreements or understandings with Syria,” in response to claims that negotiations had stalled since September.
However, the prime minister’s office did confirm that meetings and contacts had occurred under American auspices, though six rounds of talks aimed at reinforcing stability along the border failed to yield any tangible outcomes.
According to media sources, one of the most contentious issues was an Israeli proposal to open a so-called “humanitarian corridor” into the southern province of Sweida.
President Ahmad al-Shar’a, in a previous statement, rejected the proposal to establish a demilitarised zone in southern Syria, warning that it posed a direct threat to national security. He accused Tel Aviv of attempting to export its domestic crises in the aftermath of the war on Gaza.
He also noted that since 8 December, Israeli forces had launched over one thousand airstrikes and carried out more than four hundred ground incursions.
Syria, for its part, reaffirmed its commitment to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement as the basis for any future deal, and reiterated its demand for a full Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied since 8 December 2024.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
