Syria and Israel Hold Direct Security Talks as U.S. Backs Regional Realignment
The rare contacts between two long-standing adversaries come as part of a broader recalibration of Middle East dynamics following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024.
By Ahora Qadi
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a landmark development with potential regional implications, Syria and Israel have been engaged in direct, in-person talks aimed at reducing tensions along their shared border, according to Reuters.
The rare contacts between two long-standing adversaries come as part of a broader recalibration of Middle East dynamics following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024.
Five sources—including Syrian, Western, and regional intelligence officials—told Reuters that multiple rounds of face-to-face meetings had taken place in recent weeks, including on territory currently under Israeli control. These talks, previously undisclosed, are centered on joint security arrangements and preventing military escalation, particularly in the Golan Heights and the volatile southern provinces of Syria.
Strategic Shift After Assad’s Ouster
The contacts build upon earlier backchannel communications facilitated by intermediaries, following the rise to power of Islamist rebels Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who toppled Bashar al-Assad. Among those leading the dialogue for Syria is Ahmad al-Dalati, a high-ranking security official appointed governor of Quneitra—an area adjacent to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights—and recently tasked with overseeing security in the Druze-majority province of Sweida.
It remains unclear who is representing the Israeli side in these meetings, though two sources confirmed they are senior security officials. Neither Israel’s foreign ministry nor Syrian government representatives have commented publicly on the matter.
The talks take place against the backdrop of shifting U.S. policy. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump met with Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Riyadh—a meeting that reshaped Washington’s Syria strategy. The Trump administration has since encouraged engagement between Damascus and Tel Aviv, a sharp departure from previous U.S. policy.
U.S. Pushes for Stability, Israel Tones Down Bombardments
According to Kurdistan24 reporter in Damascus, Since Assad’s fall, Israel has escalated its presence in southern Syria, citing concerns over the past affiliations of the new Islamist leadership. It has conducted repeated airstrikes on Syrian military infrastructure, including an unprecedented strike near the presidential palace in Damascus.
However, recent weeks have seen a notable decline in such operations. Analysts attribute this de-escalation to both diplomatic efforts and U.S. pressure on Israel to accommodate the emerging post-Assad political order.
A Fragile Peace or the Start of a New Chapter?
Reuters’s Sources indicated that while current discussions are centered on security coordination—particularly the prevention of Israeli incursions into Syrian villages—there is potential for broader political agreements. "For now, they are about peace, as in the absence of war, rather than normalization," said one individual familiar with the talks.
Al-Sharaa has thus far avoided public comments on the possibility of full normalization, instead emphasizing a return to the 1974 disengagement agreement that established a U.N.-monitored buffer zone in the Golan Heights.
Nonetheless, according to Syria Tv, Syrian authorities have detained two senior members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a group involved in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Additionally, according to Times od Israel, The Syrian government handed over the personal belongings of Eli Cohen, the famed Israeli spy executed in Damascus in 1965
Whether these nascent talks lead to formal diplomatic relations remains to be seen. But the reduction in hostilities, paired with behind-the-scenes diplomacy, reflects a significant shift in a region long marred by entrenched enmity.
