Syria's Al-Sharaa: indirect talks underway with Israel

Shafaq News

5 days ago

Shafaq News – Damascus
On Wednesday, Syria's transitional president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, revealed that indirect negotiations are underway with Israel to halt its ongoing strikes on southern Syria, according to a presidential statement.
In a meeting with community leaders and elders from Quneitra province and the occupied Golan region, Al-Sharaa stated that 'efforts are ongoing to stop the Israeli attacks through indirect negotiations via international mediators,' emphasizing the importance of local leaders in strengthening national unity and communicating citizens' grievances.
The meeting focused on security conditions, essential services, and the daily struggles of residents in the affected border regions, many of whom have been caught in the crossfire between Israel and Iranian-linked groups operating in Syria.
Earlier, Israeli media reported that Israel's National Security Council chief, Tzachi Hanegbi, is personally overseeing diplomatic and security coordination with Syria.
Speaking to Israel Hayom, Hanegbi said he is managing 'dialogue with Syrian political figures on behalf of the Israeli government,' adding that the coordination includes both political and security matters.
He confirmed 'daily contact at all levels with Syria,' and suggested that such engagement could eventually pave the way for Syria and Lebanon to join the Abraham Accords — a series of US-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab states.
When asked whether Israel might consider withdrawing from the separation zone in the Golan Heights in the event of a normalization deal with Damascus, Hanegbi said, 'If normalization happens, we will consider it.'
On May 31, Syria's Minister of Information, Hamza al-Mustafa, also acknowledged the existence of indirect negotiations with Israel, stating that they center on the 1974 Disengagement Agreement brokered by the United Nations following the October 1973 War.