TEL AVIV, December 2. /TASS/. Israel still believes that a peace agreement can be signed with Syria but insists that Damascus demilitarize the border area in its southern parts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said while visiting a hospital in Tel Aviv where Israeli soldiers who were wounded during a recent raid in Syria are receiving treatment.
"What we expect Syria to do, of course, is to establish a demilitarized buffer zone from Damascus to the buffer zone area [on the Golan Heights], including, of course, the approaches to Mount Hermon and the summit of Mount Hermon," he said as quoted by his office.
According to the Israeli prime minister, Israel needs control over border areas, where Syrian troops had been deployed before the change of power in Damascus in December 2024, due to security considerations. "We hold these territories to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel, and that is what obligates us. In a good spirit and understanding of these principles, it is also possible to reach an agreement with the Syrians, but we will stand by our principles in any case," he noted.
On November 28, Israel delivered an airstrike on and opened artillery fire at the Beit Jinn village in Syria. After an Israeli military patrol entered the locality, clashes with residents occurred. According to Syria TV, the raid left more than 20 people dead. Israel claimed that it was a retaliatory strike after its soldiers had been attacked by a Hamas-affiliated group.
On Israel-Syria relations
Israel deployed its troops to the buffer zone and the Syria-controlled part of Mount Hermon in December 2024 after the change of power in Damascus. Netanyahu explained the move by security considerations, saying that the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement between the two countries was no longer valid.
On September 17, 2025, Syrian Foreign Minister in the transitional government Asaad al-Sheibani and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer held talks in London. The talks were mediated by US Special Envoy for the Middle East Tom Barrack. According to Syria TV, the sides discussed a new draft agreement on security measures that was supposed to supersede the 1974 disengagement agreement.
Following these negotiations, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said that Damascus could soon sign a security agreement with Israel but this would not mean "a normalization in relations" with the Jewish state or Damascus’ intention to join the Abraham Accords. However, according to the Al Arabiya television channel, further talks on this matter have stalled.