Middle East — 2026-07-27

Syrian President al-Sharaa Says Damascus Is Negotiating a Security Pact With Israel

BLUFAl-Sharaa's public overture lacks any Israeli reciprocal signal, and ongoing IDF incursions into Daraa suggest Damascus is negotiating against itself to establish leverage it does not yet hold.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa told Al Jazeera in an interview broadcast Sunday that Damascus is negotiating a security agreement with Israel involving several other countries, aimed at reviving the 1974 disengagement accord, establishing a UN-monitored buffer zone, and securing an Israeli military withdrawal from the buffer zone it seized after Assad's 2024 ouster, building on an intelligence-sharing mechanism the two sides agreed in January 2026 123. He said the deal could open a path to comprehensive peace without Syria relinquishing its claim to the Golan Heights 1234. He said Syria has "no interest" in confrontation with Israel 35 and again rejected pressure from President Trump to send troops against Hezbollah in Lebanon 5. Al-Sharaa ruled out Syrian military intervention in Lebanon, saying Damascus is coordinating with the Lebanese government and supports the state's exclusive control over arms and war-and-peace decisions 126. Shafaq News reported that Israeli forces advanced into two villages in the Yarmouk Basin in western Daraa the same day, part of more than 20 ground and aerial incursions into southern Syria this month 6.

Analysis
Al-Sharaa's public overture tests whether a security arrangement can substitute for full normalization, since he preserves Syria's Golan claim rather than trading it for peace. Israeli ground and aerial incursions into Daraa the same day, part of more than twenty this month, indicate Israel is not conditioning its operational posture on the diplomatic opening. Low confidence attaches to any assessment of the talks' substance, since al-Sharaa's own account is the sole primary source and no Israeli official has confirmed or characterized the negotiations; Al Jazeera's exclusive interview draws only secondary amplification from Times of Israel, Haaretz, Shafaq News, The Jerusalem Post, and Al-Monitor rather than independent reporting. His refusal to commit troops against Hezbollah despite Trump's pressure shows Damascus prioritizing non-intervention and deference to Beirut's arms monopoly over Washington's Lebanon strategy, keeping US-Syria coordination on Hezbollah strained. The interview may function primarily as a domestic and Arab-audience signal justifying non-confrontation with Israel and deflecting Trump's pressure, rather than reflecting substantive negotiating progress.

6 sources

President Ahmed al-Sharaa: Syria seeking security deal with Israel - Al Jazeera
Ahmed al-Sharaa: Syria, Israel seeking security agreement without losing Golan Heights - The Jerusalem Post
Syria president tells Al Jazeera his country seeks security deal with Israel - Al-Monitor
Syrian President al-Sharaa: Syria Seeking Security Agreement With Israel to Pave Way for Peace - Haaretz
Syria's Sharaa: Working on security pact with Israel, could lead to comprehensive peace deal - Times of Israel
President Al-Sharaa: Syria seeks security deal with Israel - Shafaq News