Will Syria normalise relations with Israel?

After astir 14 years of warfare successful Syria, the caller authorities is resetting its determination relations, and a batch of absorption is connected what volition hap with Israel.

There are reports of talks betwixt Syria and Israel, with timelines adjacent being floated for imaginable normalisation betwixt the 2 countries, which person technically been astatine warfare since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

Here’s what you request to cognize astir imaginable normalisation betwixt Syria and Israel:

What has happened truthful far?

Syria and Israel person held nonstop talks, according to Israeli media, astir perchance entering into a normalisation agreement.

Communication betwixt the 2 states has reportedly been facilitated by the United Arab Emirates, which established a backchannel for contact.

Any statement would apt beryllium an hold of the Abraham Accords, an statement brokered by the United States betwixt immoderate Arab states and Israel.

The Abraham Accords were a top-down attack by Donald Trump during his archetypal word arsenic US president to get Arab states to formalise relations with Israel.

They were signed successful August and September 2020 by the UAE and Bahrain, and soon followed by Sudan and Morocco.

Since then, Trump has worked to grow the accords by pushing much countries to motion agreements with Israel.

Trump visited 3 countries successful the Middle East successful May, and, portion successful Saudi Arabia, helium met Syria’s caller president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and reportedly encouraged him to normalise relations with Israel.

Is normalisation possible?

Possibly down the road, analysts say, but close present it would beryllium astir impossible, according to Syrian writer and writer Robin Yassin-Kassab.

There is simply a heavy enmity betwixt Syria and Israel, which heightened during the 1967 Arab-Israeli warfare and Israel’s concern of the Syrian Golan Heights.

Israeli Defence Minister Gideon Saar said his state would importune connected its concern of the Golan Heights successful immoderate woody with Syria, and the Israeli service has gone deeper into the Golan, occupying homes and expelling radical from the area.

Many Syrians would reason giving up the Golan to Israel, according to analysts. Still, galore mightiness invited common-sense negotiations.

“Syrians are divided … due to the fact that connected the 1 manus radical are exhausted, everyone recognises Syria cannot support itself oregon combat Israel … truthful it’s bully [al-Sharaa’s] negotiating,” Yassin-Kassab said, adding that a instrumentality to an statement similar the 1974 ceasefire is the astir realistic option.

About a week aft then-President Bashar al-Assad fled Syria successful December 2024, Israel’s parliament voted connected a plan to grow settlements successful Syria – amerciable nether planetary law. There are presently much than 31,000 Israeli settlers successful the occupied Golan Heights.

Syria, nether al-Sharaa, has said it is unfastened to bid with Israel and that it would uphold a 1974 ceasefire statement betwixt the 2 states, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced connected December 8 – the time al-Assad fled to Moscow – that helium viewed the statement arsenic void.

Israel attacked Syria repeatedly, destroying overmuch of its subject infrastructure and seizing Syrian territory adjacent the borderline with Syria’s Golan Heights.

Syria would apt inquire for Israel to retreat from the recently occupied country nether a caller non-aggression deal, though reports accidental the Golan Heights person not yet been discussed.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani shakes hands with US Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack successful Damascus, Syria, May 29, 2025 [Firas Makdesi/Reuters]

What moves person been made lately?

In caller days, Israeli officials person said they are unfastened to a woody with Syria, and Netanyahu reportedly asked US Special Envoy Tom Barrack to assistance negociate one.

Israel’s National Security Council head, Tzachi Hanegbi, has reportedly been overseeing discussions with Syrian officials. The talks see a US beingness and are successful “advanced stages”, according to elder Israeli officials who spoke to The Times of Israel.

Figures adjacent to al-Sharaa are reportedly asking for an extremity to Israeli aggression without Syria having to judge afloat normalisation, Lebanese regular Al-Akhbar reported.

What would Syria privation from talks with Israel?

Syria wants the Israeli attacks connected Syrian territory to cease.

There are concerns implicit Israel’s expanded concern of the Golan Heights among galore Syrians; however, it’s unclear if al-Sharaa’s authorities volition request the instrumentality of the occupied parts.

Syria would, however, privation Israel to propulsion retired of the Golan due and the parts it occupied implicit the past year.

Israel besides threatened the caller Syrian government not to deploy soldiers southbound of Damascus, a portion adjacent its borderline with Israel.

Israel has besides tried to stoke sectarianism successful this area, threatening to intervene to “protect the Syrian Druze” during sectarian-driven tensions betwixt groups affiliated with the caller Syrian authorities and Syria’s number Druze community.

While galore successful the Druze assemblage person shown a distrust of Syria’s caller government, galore person besides denounced Israel’s threats of involution arsenic a calculated stunt to origin further discord among Syrians.

What would Israel want?

Netanyahu reportedly wants a information statement – an update connected the 1974 substance – with a model towards a full bid program with Syria.

US envoy Barrack claims the contented betwixt Syria and Israel is “solvable” and has suggested they statesman with a “non-aggression agreement”, according to Axios.

Such a continued concern of the Golan would apt upset galore Syrians.

“It’s excessively politically hard [for al-Sharaa], adjacent nether American unit and the continued menace of unit from Israel,” Yassin-Kassab said.

Israel besides reportedly has further conditions: nary Turkish subject bases successful Syria, nary beingness of Iran oregon Iranian-backed groups similar Hezbollah, and the demilitarisation of confederate Syria.