US Says Israel-Syria Normalization Chances Before Israel Elections Are Very Slim

The US administration believes the chances of advancing normalization between Israel and Syria before Israel's upcoming elections are "very slim," a source familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post.

“Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan on Monday condemned recent Israeli attacks and military incursions into southern Syria, warning that the violations threaten regional security and stability”

A News

The Jerusalem Post said the Syrian government's core demand is for Israel to carry out some form of withdrawal from the buffer zone it entered following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's regime, while US officials assess that this will make meaningful progress extremely difficult.

A News

Defense Minister Israel Katz told reporters on Monday that Israel intends to remain in the areas it entered in Syria, saying, "I informed the commander of US Central Command, Admiral Cooper, that we will not withdraw from the security zone in Syria."

The Jerusalem Post reported that over the past year meetings took place between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, then-strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, and Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, mediated by the United States and led by Tom Barrack, President Trump's special envoy for Syria.

It added that Syrian officials said any security pact and the advance of normalization depend on the renewal of the 1974 buffer zone agreement, which was created after the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Israel and Syria following the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Türkiye condemned Israeli attacks targeting Syria’s Quneitra and Daraa provinces, saying the strikes violated Syria’s territorial integrity, unity and sovereignty and constituted a clear violation of international law and the 1974 Disengagement Agreement.

In a statement shared on Turkish social media platform NSosyal on Monday, Türkiye said, “We strongly condemn Israel’s attacks on Quneitra and Daraa, which violate Syria’s territorial integrity, unity and sovereignty.”

Al Jazeera

A News reported that Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan on Monday condemned recent Israeli attacks and military incursions into southern Syria, warning that the violations threaten regional security and stability.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry denounced Israeli violations in the region, including "its latest incursions into Syrian territory and the targeting of the Quneitra and Daraa governorates with artillery shelling."

Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Fuad Majali said the latest Israeli incursions into Quneitra and Daraa, along with artillery shelling, constitute "a flagrant violation of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a blatant breach of international law and the UN Charter."

Al-Jazeera Net said Israeli occupation artillery shelled the village of Abdeen in the western countryside of Daraa, southern Syria, on Sunday evening, after its vehicles had previously penetrated the area in the Yarmouk Basin.

A reporter for Al Jazeera said the artillery shells fell on agricultural lands belonging to Abdeen, and that the helicopter drone overhead strafed the outskirts of the village while thermal balloons were released over the Yarmouk Basin.

The same report said the commander of Civil Defense operations in southern Syria clarified that the Israeli bombardment did not result in injuries or material damage, but rather caused a state of panic and fear among the villagers, leading to a limited displacement to neighboring towns.

Damascus condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli aggressions manifested by incursions into Syrian territory in the provinces of Quneitra and Daraa and the targeting of the area with artillery, which resulted in scaring civilians, in a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a new breach of international law and the United Nations Charter and the 1974 disengagement agreement.

The Foreign Ministry, in a statement carried by SANA, said the continuation of these aggressive practices undermines efforts to consolidate security and stability and "portends further escalation and tension in the region."