Israel Moves to Ease Tensions with Syria and Turkey

ARK News.. An Israeli newspaper reported that Israel is taking steps to ease tensions with Syria and Turkey following the airstrike on the Abu al-Duhour airbase in the Idlib countryside, amid high-level contacts led by Israel to revive the security track with Damascus.

According to the Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv, Mossad chief Roman Gofman is leading the contacts, while Israel’s security establishment is considering the possibility of reaching an interim security agreement with Syria backed by U.S. and international guarantees.

The newspaper quoted an Israeli security official as saying that some within Israel’s security establishment believe reaching an agreement with Damascus would serve Israel’s interests, despite continued disagreements over the future of the Golan Heights and areas seized by Israel in southern Syria.

According to the official, the proposed agreement would not constitute a comprehensive peace deal, but rather an interim security arrangement involving U.S. and international guarantees and measures concerning the border area. Such an arrangement could allow Israel to reduce its troop deployment along the Syrian border.

The source added that Damascus may be willing to keep heavy weapons away from the area between the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the Israeli border in exchange for security arrangements and a reduction in tensions.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani previously told Reuters that Damascus expects security negotiations with Israel to resume soon, despite continued mistrust between the two sides. He stressed that Syria’s priority is to halt Israeli attacks and secure the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Syrian territory seized by Israel following the fall of the Assad regime.

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