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The Syrian delegation’s meetings at the United Nations General Assembly ended without signing the long-discussed Syrian Israeli security agreement. Negotiations were suspended after Israel added a new clause proposing a humanitarian corridor to Sweida, a move strongly rejected by Turkey.
The agreement had been promoted as another “political victory” for former U.S. President Donald Trump, who reportedly hoped to see it signed in Washington under the supervision of his envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack. Just days before the talks, Barrack remarked, “Peace is an illusion. There has never been peace in the Middle East, and there will probably never be peace, because everybody is fighting for legitimacy.”
Israeli Military Pressure on the Ground
While diplomats debated, the situation in Syria continued to deteriorate. Israel forced Syrian forces to withdraw heavy military equipment from areas south of the capital all the way north. Over the past ten months, Israeli forces have taken control of a 10 kilometer wide strip of Syrian territory along the Golan Heights, extending toward the border triangle near Hamat Ghadir.
Within this area, Israeli forces established eight military positions and seized about 3.5 tons of weapons and ammunition. Reports suggest that some Syrian positions exposed sensitive Israeli sites, prompting deeper Israeli incursions and tighter control of the region.
Al Sharaa in New York: “We Fear Israel”
Transitional Authority President Ahmad al Sharaa traveled to New York with a special exemption from the UN Security Council, as he remains listed under its terrorism sanctions. Washington removed him and Hay’at Tahrir al Sham from its terrorism list and attempted to convince the Security Council to follow suit, but the motion failed due to objections from several countries.
Al Sharaa’s appearance marked the first by a Syrian president at the UN since 1967. He held meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom Trump praised, calling Syria’s recent developments a “victory for Turkey,” and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he signed an agreement to restore diplomatic relations severed in 2022.
In one of the most unexpected moments of the visit, Al Sharaa held a public dialogue with U.S. General David Petraeus, the former CIA director who once placed a $10 million bounty on Al Sharaa’s head when he was known as Al Julani. The conversation symbolized the extraordinary shifts in Syria’s political landscape.
At a press conference before departing, Al Sharaa told reporters, “We are not the ones causing problems for Israel. We fear Israel.”
Leaked Clauses Reveal Deep Concessions
According to leaks, the proposed deal would divide southern Syria into three security zones. The first would expand the existing buffer area by two kilometers, covering Tal al Hara in Daraa and parts of Mount Hermon, giving Israel control over areas that overlook the Damascus Beirut road and Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.
The second zone would be completely demilitarized, while the third would ban Syrian aircraft from operating in the area and open an aerial corridor for Israeli planes to reach Iran if future strikes were authorized.
In early September, Syrian authorities proposed a “roadmap” with the United States and Jordan to counter Israel’s demands for a corridor to Sweida, citing “protection of the Druze population” as justification. The plan included securing the Damascus Sweida road and ensuring humanitarian access, but it was rejected by the autonomous legal committee in Sweida.
Israel Gains Without Signing
According to Dr. Ziad Jabbour, an international relations expert at Damascus University, Israel is in no rush to sign the deal because it continues to gain concessions without committing to anything.
He explained, “The actions of Al Sharaa and his forces, from the massacres on the coast and in Sweida to tensions with the SDF, have weakened his position and allowed Israel to present itself falsely as a protector of minorities. True legitimacy can only come from within, not from foreign powers like the U.S. and Israel, who are training and equipping fighters in Sweida and coordinating with the SDF.”
Jabbour questioned why Syrian authorities now welcome Israeli citizens, journalists, rabbis, and known supporters of Zionism in Damascus, while expelling leaders of Palestinian factions and pursuing anyone assisting resistance movements in Lebanon or Palestine. “Why,” he asked, “is the term Israeli side now used officially instead of Israeli occupation?”
Majority Oppose Normalization
Jabbour noted that most Syrians reject normalization with Israel, seeing it as a deal that sacrifices national sovereignty for temporary political gains.
He also dismissed any comparison between the proposed agreement and the 1979 Egypt Israel peace treaty. “The two are entirely different,” he said. “In 1974, Syria signed a disengagement agreement defining a demilitarized zone under UN supervision while reaffirming its claim to the Golan Heights. Today’s draft, however, risks erasing that claim entirely.”
For now, Syria’s talks with Israel remain frozen, but the growing Israeli presence in southern Syria, coupled with deep divisions among Syrian factions, makes any future agreement increasingly uncertain.