Report: Israel and Syria to Resume Negotiations in Paris Monday

Israel and Syria will begin their fifth round of negotiations tomorrow in Paris, according to a report by Axios citing an Israeli official and another source with knowledge of the discussions. The talks are expected to last two days.

US President Donald Trump reportedly requested that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu restart the negotiations when the two leaders met last week at Mar-a-Lago. Tom Barrack, Trump’s Syria envoy and US Ambassador to Turkey, will mediate the discussions.

Following the resignation of Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Netanyahu has restructured Israel’s negotiating team. US Ambassador Yechiel Leiter will now lead the Israeli delegation, joined by Military Secretary Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman and acting National Security Adviser Gil Reich. Syria will be represented by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.

The December 8, 2024, collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime during a major offensive by opposition forces marked a historic turning point in Syria after more than 50 years of Assad family rule. Assad fled to Russia where he was granted asylum, and Ahmed al-Sharaa was appointed as president for the transitional period in January 2025.

The fall of the Assad government fundamentally altered the regional security landscape and Israel-Syria relations. Shortly after the collapse, Netanyahu declared the 1974 Disengagement Agreement “void until order is restored in Syria”. In response, Israel occupied the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights and expanded its control inside Syria.

Following Assad’s fall, Israel launched extensive military operations across Syria. According to an Israeli military spokesperson, within 48 hours Israel destroyed 70-80 percent of Syria’s military capacity, including the near total destruction of its air defense and radar systems. By December 2025, the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data reported that Israel has carried out attacks across Syria more than 600 times, averaging nearly two times a day.

Israel launched hundreds of airstrikes and some ground incursions to destroy Assad-era weaponry, maintain a demilitarized buffer zone, and to protect Syria’s Druze minority. Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said that Israeli forces would remain in southern Syria “for an indefinite period of time to protect our communities and thwart any threat.”

Despite initial hostilities, both sides began engaging in dialogue. On August 20, 2025, the official Syrian News Agency issued a statement that Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met in Paris with an Israeli delegation “to discuss a number of issues related to strengthening stability in the region and in southern Syria.” This marked the first official acknowledgment of contact between the Syrian government and Israel in over 25 years.

A few days later, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa claimed that a security agreement with Israel was at an advanced stage, and emphasized that he would not hesitate to publicly reach a peace agreement with Israel if it benefited Syria and the region.

Since late June 2025, Israel and Syria have been engaged in U.S.-brokered “advanced talks” aimed at ceasing hostilities and normalizing relations. The possibility of Syria joining the Abraham Accords has been discussed, though significant obstacles remain.

The negotiations face several major challenges. During his visit to Washington, D.C. in November 2025, al-Sharaa stated that they are in direct negotiations with Israel, and reiterated that Israel should withdraw to their pre-December 8 borders before a final agreement can be reached.

Among the key obstacles is Syria’s demand that Israel cease operating or striking targets within Syrian territory. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani stated that Syria aspires to return to the terms of the 1974 Disengagement agreement.

Israeli media have recently reported that talks between the two had reached a dead end, mainly as a result of Netanyahu’s unwillingness to compromise on Israel’s refusal to withdraw from the territory it has seized in the last year.

The Trump administration has been actively pushing for a deal between the two nations. On December 2, 2025, Trump said he wanted both Syria and Israel to “have a long and prosperous relationship together,” and his special envoy Tom Barrack has been central to mediating the discussions.

The US has expressed hope that Israel and Syria will establish diplomatic relations or a security pact, though the interim Syrian authorities have said there will be no security agreement with Israel until it withdraws from the Golan Heights, which Trump has recognized as belonging to Israel.