Israeli FM says ready for security deal with Syria

Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar has said his country is seeking a “security-based agreement” with Syria and has no territorial ambitions there, despite Israel’s continued occupation of Syrian land and ongoing airstrikes since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government last year.

In remarks to the Saudi-owned news channel Al Arabiya, Saar said Israel was not interested in expanding its territorial footprint in Syria and added that any understanding with Damascus could benefit both sides.

“We have never had territorial ambitions in Syria; otherwise, we could have taken more land,” Saar told Al Arabiya.

Israel has however illegally occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and refuses to return it.

Following the ouster of the Assad regime in December 2024, it seized additional territory beyond the occupied Golan Heights and carried out sustained airstrikes targeting Syrian military infrastructure.

These moves have drawn international criticism and calls for Israel to withdraw from areas it occupied following Assad’s fall.

According to Syrian government data cited by Anadolu, Israel has carried out more than 1,000 airstrikes on Syrian territory and over 400 cross-border ground raids into southern provinces since December 2024. Syrian authorities say the strikes have killed civilians and destroyed military sites, vehicles, weapons and ammunition.

Despite those operations, Saar claimed Israel’s objectives were limited to “security concerns”. He said Israel was pursuing an arrangement that would prevent threats emanating from Syrian soil, even though the current Syrian government poses no direct military threat to Israel.

Saar’s comments that Israel was seeking a security agreement came in contrast to recent Israeli statements that there was no prospect of such a deal and that Israel intended to continue to occupy Syrian territory it has seized since December 2024.

Alongside his comments on Syria, Saar also addressed Israel’s northern front with Lebanon, where he framed Israel’s ongoing military actions as part of a broader confrontation with Hezbollah.

According to the Times of Israel, Saar said Israel seeks to normalise relations with Lebanon but argued that such a step would require what he described as the “elimination of Hezbollah”. He characterised Israel’s disputes with Beirut as “limited and resolvable”, while denying that Israeli actions violate Lebanese sovereignty.

Those comments come despite Israel violating the 27 November 2024 ceasefire with Lebanon more than 10,000 times, according to UN figures. 

Israeli forces continue to illegally occupy parts of southern Lebanon, maintaining positions inside Lebanese territory despite the ceasefire.

The occupation has been accompanied by ongoing Israeli airspace violations and military operations, which Lebanese officials say breach the country’s sovereignty and undermine efforts to stabilise the border.

Saar also warned that Hezbollah continued to destabilise Lebanon and obstruct prospects for peace, claiming that the group is the central obstacle to improved relations between the two countries.