Israel and Syria are reportedly nearing a peace agreement, expected to be signed before the end of 2025.
The Israeli media outlet i24 News, citing a Syrian source with direct knowledge of the matter, reported on Saturday that the deal envisions a gradual Israeli withdrawal from all Syrian territories it seized after invading the buffer zone on December 8, 2024, including the peak of Mount Hermon.
According to the source, the “historic” deal will fully normalize diplomatic relations between the two sides, adding that the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights will be designated as "a garden for peace" under the agreement framework.
The latest development comes as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, head of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham-led (HTS) administration, has recently expressed readiness to normalize ties between Syria and Israel amid Washington's plans to revoke anti-Damascus sanctions and Israel's occupation of more Syrian land.
Syria's HTS officials visited Israel for normalization: Report
Back in May, Israeli media reported that a delegation from the HTS-led administration in Syria made a secret visit to the occupied territories to hold direct talks with Israeli officials after Jolani signaled readiness to normalize ties with Israel.
At the time, Reuters reported that the United Arab Emirates had facilitated a backchannel between Syrian and Israeli officials.
Since the collapse of former President Bashar al-Assad’s government, the Israeli military has been launching airstrikes against military installations, facilities, and arsenals belonging to Syria’s now-defunct army.
The Israeli regime has also intensified its aggression on Syria by initiating an unlawful land appropriation beyond the occupied Golan Heights in what is seen as a component of the so-called “Greater Israel” project.
This strategic territory has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War.
The Israeli military in December advanced beyond the Golan Heights demilitarized buffer zone, occupying Mount Hermon and other strategic areas inside Syria, in violation of a 1974 international agreement between Israel and Syria.
The HTS militant group seized control of Damascus on December 8, following a swift offensive that had begun in the northwestern province of Aleppo just two weeks earlier.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently described how the Israeli military helped the HTS takeover of Syria in December.
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