Syrian official: The United States is initiating to stop all Israeli military activities in Syria
A Syrian official, that the United States has put forward an initiative to completely and immediately halt all Israeli military activities inside Syrian territory.
The Syrian official considered this step a “historic opportunity” that could open the door to pushing the Syrian-Israeli negotiations in a positive and constructive direction.
The Syrian official explained that any real progress in the strategic issues with Israel remains conditional on a clear and binding timetable that guarantees a full Israeli withdrawal beyond the pre-December 8, 2024 lines, stressing that the absence of this condition makes it impossible to move forward with negotiations.
Later, the US State Department announced that Syria and Israel had reached an agreement to establish a joint communications cell, which aims to coordinate a number of issues, including the exchange of intelligence information and the de-escalation of military escalation.
This came in a joint US-Syrian-Israeli statement, in which Washington praised what it described as “positive steps” and reiterated its commitment to supporting the understandings reached during the Paris meetings.
The statement added that the Syrian and Israeli sides decided to establish a joint coordination mechanism, without going into further details about the nature of its work or its powers.
In a related context, Axios quoted a US official as saying that Washington has presented a new proposal to both Israel and Syria, aimed at paving the way towards a security agreement between the two parties.
The proposal includes the establishment of a demilitarized economic zone on both sides of the border between the two countries.
This proposal is similar to a previous initiative presented by the administration of former US President Donald Trump, during which it proposed the establishment of a demilitarized economic zone in the Donbas region, as part of addressing the territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia.
The proposed economic zone on the Syrian-Israeli border could include multiple projects, such as wind farms, agricultural activities, and a ski resort in the mount Hermon area, he said, noting that regional partners have expressed their willingness to fund these projects.
For its part, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the resumption of diplomatic dialogue between Israel and Syria, after a hiatus of several months, with the support and auspices of the United States.
The statement stressed that during the talks, Israel stressed the need to ensure the security of its citizens and prevent any potential threats on its northern border.
The NAO also noted that the two parties agreed to continue dialogue with the aim of promoting what it described as common goals, in addition to stressing the importance of maintaining the security of the Druze minority inside Syria.
