Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday there had been "some progress" in contacts with Syria, while emphasizing that a breakthrough was still far off.
Speaking at the weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu claimed that Israel’s recent "victories against Hezbollah" had opened "a window to unimaginable possibilities, including the prospect of peace with our northern neighbors."
"We are holding contacts and there has been some progress with the Syrians, but the road is still long," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by Walla news.
There was no immediate response from Damascus. However, two days earlier, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa stated that the country was "very close" to reaching a U.S.-brokered deal with Tel Aviv.
He added that the prospective agreement would resemble the 1974 disengagement accord, which Israel declared void after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in late 2024.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported Wednesday that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in London, with U.S. special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack also in attendance. The talks reportedly centered on a draft security agreement put forward by Israel.
Following Assad’s ouster, Israel has carried out frequent airstrikes in Syria and expanded its control, while Damascus has refrained from retaliation.
Israel has occupied most of the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967 and, after Assad’s fall, seized the buffer zone and declared the 1974 disengagement deal void.
