Peace talks with Syria show progress, but no deal yet: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday (Sept 21) that Israel is in talks with Syria on a security agreement, with “some progress,” but a deal is not imminent.

Speaking at the opening of a weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said, “There is some progress, but still a vision for the future.” He added that the talks with Syria, as well as contacts with Lebanon, “would not have been possible without our overwhelming victories on the northern front and on other fronts as well.”

“Our victories in Lebanon against Hezbollah have opened a window of opportunity that was not even imagined before the recent operations and our action, and that is the possibility of peace with our neighbors to the north,” he said.

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Wednesday that ongoing negotiations with Israel to reach a security pact could produce results “in the coming days.” He emphasised that any agreement would need to respect Syria’s airspace and territorial unity and be monitored by the United Nations.

The talks come after Israel launched a multi-front military campaign starting in October 2023, involving Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen. The conflict in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of over 65,000 Palestinians.

Netanyahu highlighted that Israel’s victories in Lebanon had created new opportunities for peace in the north. Syria hopes a security pact will halt Israeli airstrikes and lead to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Syria.