Syria Reaffirms Diplomatic Path with Israel Despite Ongoing Attacks
Damascus says US-mediated negotiations remain underway as it calls for an end to Israeli incursions and arrests and a return to pre-December 2024 positions
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Syria remains committed to pursuing a diplomatic solution with Israel through US-mediated negotiations, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Tuesday, despite what he described as continued Israeli attacks, incursions and arrests across Syrian territory.
Speaking at a press conference alongside visiting Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Shaibani said Syria had recorded 65 Israeli incursions in July and another 52 during the first 18 days of August.
“The attacks are still ongoing. We observed 65 incursions in July alone, and 52 in the first 18 days of August,” Shaibani said.
He also condemned what he described as a “campaign of raids on homes in Quneitra province and the Damascus countryside,” saying Syria had registered 147 cases of Israeli troops detaining Syrians so far this year, with “49 of them still detained.”
Despite the continued military activity, Shaibani said Damascus remained committed to negotiations.
“Despite these challenges, we are still committed to the option of a diplomatic solution and we are working seriously to achieve this,” he said, adding: “We are engaged in negotiations mediated by the United States of America.”
Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on Syria since the Islamist authorities ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
Israeli forces have also moved into a UN-patrolled buffer zone that had separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights since 1974, while carrying out further incursions into Syrian territory.
Israel has vowed to maintain troops in a so-called “security zone” in southern Syria, where it seeks a broader demilitarised area.
Shaibani strongly criticized statements by Israeli officials indicating that their forces intend to remain in Jabal al-Sheikh, or Mount Hermon, describing them as “an explicit declaration on consolidating the occupation” and saying they invalidated “any flimsy security pretexts.”
He said the negotiations were aimed at “stopping the attacks and arrests” and securing an Israeli withdrawal to positions held before December 2024, alongside “a full return to adherence to the 1974 disengagement agreement.”
Israel and Syria have held several rounds of direct talks, with the most recent taking place last month in Jordan following fresh Israeli strikes, including an attack on a disused airbase in northwestern Syria.
Israel said the strike was intended to prevent Turkish troops from deploying to the facility, while Ankara denied any visit to the site.
Two sources had previously told AFP that Shaibani met with Roman Gofman, head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, during the talks in Jordan.
Following negotiations in Paris in January, the two sides agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism as they moved toward a security agreement.
Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz visited troops in southern Syria and reiterated a pledge to keep Israeli forces in the area as long as there were “threats” to his country’s security.
Israel captured most of the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and later annexed the areas under its control, a move recognized only by the United States and Colombia.
For Damascus, Shaibani said, the diplomatic track remains the route toward ending the ongoing military confrontation and addressing the issues of incursions, arrests and Israeli troop deployments.