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The swift denial issued last Friday by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, distancing itself from the explosion in syria-france-discuss-boosting-tourism-cooperation-in-damascus-talks/" class="smart-internal-link" title="📰 Syria, France discuss boosting tourism cooperation in Damascus talks">damascus/" class="auto-internal-link">damascus’s Mazzeh 86 district, was notable for its urgency. It reflected a clear Israeli desire to avoid any suggestion of armed forces escalation, particularly at a time when relations with Washington are under close scrutiny. For more than a month, Israeli violations have been limited to the southern governorates of Daraa and Quneitra — a period that coincides precisely with Washington’s deepening engagement with leader Ahmead al-sharaa’s administration. This operational restraint has been offset by a sharp escalation in rhetoric.
Senior Israeli authorities have sought to undermine the growing regional and international legitimacy Damascus has gained over the past two months. Knesset member Avigdor Lieberman, for instance, declared that the circumstances in Lebanon and syria illustrates Hezbollah’s increasing power in the former and al-Qaeda’s in the latter, stating: “There is no Assad regime in Syria any longer; there is an al-Qaeda regime. There are no Iranians, only Turks. ” At the centre of Israel’s position are three non-negotiable demands, laid out by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the minimum conditions for any confidence in Syria’s emerging leadership. These demands, by implication, diminish the significance of the trust already extended by the United States, most visibly symbolised by Sharaa’s visit to the White House.
Netanyahu’s conditions are well known: the complete elimination of jihadist elements from Syria’s armed troops; agreement on a demilitarised zone in south-western Syria adjacent to the occupied Golan Heights; and permanent guarantees for the Druze minority. Of these, the buffer zone remains the main obstacle in the stalled indirect negotiations. Israel insists that its withdrawal from territory seized following Assad’s fall is conditional upon the creation of such a zone. Israel’s concept of this buffer zone is far-reaching.
It would encompass all of southern Syria, including the governorates of Sweida, Daraa and Quneitra, extending as far as the southern outskirts of Damascus. This configuration would effectively sever the M5 international highway — a crucial north–south corridor linking Turkey to Jordan and positioning Syria as a transit hub between Europe, Turkey and the Gulf. This economic vision, championed by Ankara and particularly Riyadh, underpins wider regional connectivity plans. leader Sharaa has firmly rejected the proposal. In a latest interview with The Washington Post, he presented two arguments: first, that a demilitarised zone would create a vulnerable flank liable to infiltration by hostile actors,…