File Photo: Israeli tanks deployed near the buffer zone on the Syrian Golan. AFP
In a statement following a phone call with his US counterpart Marco Rubio, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani expressed Damascus’s “aspiration to cooperate with the United States to return to the 1974 disengagement agreement.”
The accord, reached a year after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, established an 80-kilometre (50-mile) UN-monitored buffer zone between Israeli-occupied territory and Syrian-controlled land.
While the Golan Heights is internationally recognised as Syrian territory, Israel captured around two-thirds of the area during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and unilaterally annexed it in 1981—a move not recognised by most of the international community.
Following the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, the Israeli army occupied outposts on the Syrian-controlled sector of Mount Hermon, inside the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) buffer zone.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Syrian forces had abandoned their positions after Assad’s fall and said he ordered the army to “temporarily” seize the area until new security arrangements could be made.
Netanyahu later declared the 1974 agreement “collapsed” and expanded Israeli military control into parts of the demilitarised zone, citing security concerns. The UNDOF condemned the move as a “severe violation” of the ceasefire and said Israeli activity breached the terms of the agreement.
At the 34th Arab League Summit in May 2025, al-Shaibani described Israel’s ongoing violations as posing “a direct threat to regional stability,” urging international pressure for Israeli withdrawal, according to Anadolu Agency.
Despite widespread international condemnation, Israel has shown no intention of pulling back.
In recent weeks, Washington has intensified diplomatic efforts to broker a normalisation deal between Syria and Israel. US envoy Thomas Barrack told The New York Times that the two sides were engaged in “meaningful” US-brokered talks aimed at ending their decades-long border conflict.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday that Israel had an “interest” in normalising relations with Syria and Lebanon. However, he insisted the Golan Heights “will remain part of the State of Israel” under any future agreement.
Syrian state media reported that al-Shaibani and Rubio also discussed US sanctions, the chemical weapons dossier, Iranian involvement in Syria, counterterrorism efforts against ISIS, and repeated Israeli attacks on southern Syria.
Rubio reportedly warned that the worst outcome would be a fragmented Syria or a return to civil war.
Syria and Israel have technically remained in a state of war since 1948. Israel has carried out frequent airstrikes and incursions across Syria, particularly in the south, targeting army positions and killing civilians.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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