Just a week after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ruled out any peace deal with Syria, and after President Trump issued a statement warning Israel against interfering in Syria’s prosperity, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that a deal with Syria is possible. As is so often the case, there is a catch.
Netanyahu’s “expectations” for such a deal came with substantial demands, including a full demilitarization of the area stretching from Damascus to Mount Hermon and what was once the demilitarized zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The old demilitarized zone was occupied by Israel last year.
Though the talks between Israel and Syria were initially suggested to try to return to the 1974 detente, Israel has repeatedly rejected the idea of withdrawing from the newly seized territory, and are now trying to carve out a new “buffer zone” between the old one and the Syrian capital city.
This is not the first time Netanyahu has pushed this idea. Earlier in the year he declared it forbidden for the Syrian military to position any forces south of its own capital city, effectively trying to turn the entire south of Syria into a demilitarized zone.
This demand somewhat faltered with fighting and a massacre in the Suwayda Governorate, which saw Israel attacking Syrian forces in the area but ended with Syrian military forces positioned in Suwayda on a nominal ceasefire, which Netanyahu similarly claimed credit for.
Netanyahu’s comments today on the new “buffer zone” similarly structured the demand as connected to Israel’s desire to “protect” the Druze population in Suwayda, though the region from Damascus to Mount Hermon does not include Suwayda to begin with.
The demand for a new “buffer zone” without Israel withdrawing from the old one is probably a non-starter for the talks. This may be the point, as Israel can claim a proposal was made, even if it was one Syria was never intended to actually be able to accept.
