Middle East Eye: Amid the stalemate in the negotiations… Trump gives Netanyahu a month’s notice to finalize security deal with Syria

The United States is pressing Israel and Syria to finalize a new security agreement by March, while sources familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye that the deal could be announced soon.

Despite significant progress in the negotiations, the presence of Israeli forces on Mount Hermon remains a major obstacle, as each side sticks to its position.

The US President Donald Trump told Syria’s transitional president Ahmed al Sharaa during a phone call on Tuesday that he had given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a one-month deadline to finalize the agreement with Damascus, explaining that the only problem left is the Mount Hermon, while there is agreement on the rest of the issues”.

In turn, a Gulf official familiar with the deadline confirmed the validity of this deadline, while Trump stressed the importance of a united Syria away from any division or federalism.

The US president told reporters that he was satisfied with the developments in Syria and the region, describing the Syrian interim president as very respectable, while the government in Damascus limited himself to saying that communication was very good.

A Syrian official noted progress in talks with Israel and predicted a “close breakthrough”.

Israel considers Mount Hermon a national security issue and Washington doesn’t expect it to change its position within the deadline, according to a senior Western official, who pointed out that the US pressure on Tel Aviv comes mainly in accordance with the directions of US special envoy Thomas Barrack, in light of divisions within the US administration.

Israel occupied Mount Hermon, the highest peak in the region, following the collapse of Bashar al Assad’s government in late 2024.

It also supports Syrian Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al Hajri, who controls the southern province of Suwayda and is locked in a dispute with the Sharaa government over autonomy from Damascus.

The Syrian government won’t enter Suwayda militarily, and its integration will be negotiated with Israeli support.

Following US-brokered talks in Paris, Syria and Israel agreed to establish a joint mechanism that includes a dedicated liaison cell to share intelligence and coordinate military de-escalation, as part of a US security agreement that has supported both sides since 1974.

“The mechanism will work to quickly address any differences and prevent any misunderstandings,” the joint statement said.

Israeli security leaders are warning Prime Minister Netanyahu not to relinquish control of Mount Hermon, a strategic location that provides extensive oversight of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, as well as what Israel describes as arms smuggling routes from Syria to Lebanon.

The Israeli army maintains 8 mobile sites inside the Syrian Golan equipped with advanced infrastructure, distributed along several kilometers of the border, within areas populated by about 70,000 Syrians, most of whom are from the Daraa western countryside.