Israel’s Netanyahu says Syria deal possible, expects buffer zone

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Dec 2 (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday a deal with Syria is possible and he expects Syrian authorities to establish a demilitarised buffer zone from Damascus to Mount Hermon and other areas.

Netanyahu spoke a day after U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration has been trying to broker a non-aggression pact between the two countries, said it was very important that Israel maintained a “strong and true dialogue” with Damascus.

Syria does not formally recognise Israel, which has occupied more Syrian territory since December 2024. It captured the Syrian Golan Heights in a 1967 war and later annexed it, a move recognised by the United States but not by most other countries.

“What we expect Syria to do is, of course, to establish a demilitarized buffer zone from Damascus to the buffer area, including the approaches to Mount Hermon and the Hermon peak,” Netanyahu said while visiting wounded soldiers in central Israel. “We hold these areas in order to ensure the security of Israel’s citizens, and that is what obligates us.”

He added: “With goodwill and an understanding of these principles, it is possible to reach an agreement with the Syrians, but we will stand by our principles in any case.”

Trump has backed Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, while Israel has voiced wariness over Sharaa’s past links to Islamist militancy, but has engaged in efforts to broker a deal.

An Israeli raid in southern Syria on Friday killed 13 Syrians, Syrian state media reported. The Israeli military said it had targeted a Lebanese Islamist militant group there. Netanyahu on Tuesday was visiting soldiers wounded in the clash.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Jana Choukeir in Dubai; editing by Andrew Heavens and Mark Heinrich)