Israel eyes ties with Syria and Lebanon after Iran war

By Alexander Cornwell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel is interested in establishing formal diplomatic relations with long-standing adversaries Syria and Lebanon, but the status of the Golan Heights is non-negotiable, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.

Israeli leaders argue that with its rival Iran weakened by this month's 12-day war, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Israel.

The Middle East has been upended by nearly two years of war in Gaza, during which Israel also carried out airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah, and by the overthrow of former Syrian leader and Iran ally Bashar al-Assad.

In 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco became the first Arab states to establish ties with Israel since Jordan in 1994 and Egypt in 1979. The normalisation agreements with Israel were deeply unpopular in the Arab world.

"We have an interest in adding countries such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbours, to the circle of peace and normalisation, while safeguarding Israel's essential and security interests," Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem.

"The Golan will remain part of the State of Israel", he said.

Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after capturing the territory from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. While most of the international community regards the Golan as occupied Syrian land, U.S. President Donald Trump recognised Israeli sovereignty over it during his first term in office.

Following Assad's ousting, Israeli forces moved further into Syrian territory.

PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD DEMAND

A senior Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Syria would never give up the Golan Heights, describing it as an integral part of Syrian territory.

The official also said that normalisation efforts with Israel must be part of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, and not carried out through a separate track.

A spokesperson for Syria's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The 2002 initiative proposed Arab normalisation with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from occupied territories including the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and Gaza. It also called for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem, which Israel also captured in 1967, as its capital.

Throughout the war in Gaza, regional power Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said that establishing ties with Israel was conditional on the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Israel's Saar said it was "not constructive" for other states to condition normalisation on Palestinian statehood.

"Our view is that a Palestinian state will threaten the security of the State of Israel", he said.

In May, Reuters reported that Israel and Syria's new Islamist rulers had established direct contact and held face-to-face meetings aimed at de-escalating tensions and preventing renewed conflict along their shared border.

The same month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would lift sanctions on Syria and met Syria's new president, urging him to normalize ties with Israel.

(Additional reporting by Suleiman Al Khalidi in Amman; Editing by Michael Georgy and Aidan Lewis)