Trump urges Israel to ease pressure on Syria

Shafaq News – Washington

US President Donald Trump on Monday urged Israel to avoid actions that
could obstruct Syria’s path toward becoming a “prosperous state.”

In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the moment as a “historic
opportunity” for regional peace, as talks between Damascus and Tel Aviv remain
frozen over Israel’s withdrawal from southern Syrian territory. Israeli Channel
12, citing a senior US official, reported that Washington has also asked Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt military escalations so the new Syrian
government “doesn’t turn into an enemy of Israel.”

His statement followed a meeting in Damascus between Trump’s Envoy to
Syria, Tom Barrack, and Syria’s transitional President Ahmad Al-Sharaa,
according to the Syrian Presidency.

Talks between Syria and Israel have reached a “dead end,” the Israeli
Broadcasting Authority reported. Israel seized the UN-monitored buffer zone in
the Golan Heights and additional Syrian territory on December 8, hours after
the collapse of former President Bashar Al-Assad’s government. Though initially
described as temporary, Israel later said it would hold the areas indefinitely.

Israel now demands a comprehensive peace agreement before any withdrawal,
the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) said, while Al-Sharaa insists on a
full return to pre-December 2024 lines as a prerequisite for a final
settlement.

Read more: Syria’s shifting stance: Is normalization with Israel on the horizon?