Syria, Israel talks near completion, presence on table : Source

TEL AVIV

Syria and Israel are in the final stages of months-long negotiations over a security agreement that will include joint Israeli, Syrian and the U.S. presence at some points, an Israeli source has said.

Israel has informed both the United States and Syria that it does not support calls for secession within Syria, Saudi-based Al Arabiya reported on Oct. 29, citing an Israeli official.

Israel also assured the U.S. that it does not back Syrian Druze leader Hikmat al-Hijri or any other figures in Sweida, the source added.

Al-Hijri, a prominent Druze leader in southern Syria, previously advocated for creating a separate region for his community amid strained relations with Damascus.

Tensions in Sweida escalated months ago after clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin, which drew in government forces and armed groups from other regions. Israel intervened at the time with airstrikes, claiming to support the Druze.

The source noted that a humanitarian corridor from Israel to Sweida is no longer being considered, adding that the corridor will originate from Damascus under the U.S. plan.

Earlier talks reportedly stalled over Israel’s demand for a corridor to Sweida, according to four sources familiar with the negotiations.

The emerging security agreement will resemble the 1974 disengagement accord, with minor updates and would feature a joint Israeli-Syrian-American presence at key locations, including Mount Hermon, the source said.

Syria has pledged to the U.S. that it will protect the Druze community and provide Sweida with necessary supplies, jobs and salaries.

The US. .has reportedly told Israel that it must resolve southern Syria’s situation and its relationship with the new Syrian government before the start of next year.

A joint Syrian-American-Israeli security committee will also be set up to monitor developments along the border.

Over half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.

Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria’s new leaders since Bashar al-Assad’s fall in December 2024, saying it does not want Islamic militants near its borders.

Israeli forces earlier seized a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and have launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria.