Syria’s Sharaa Rejects Israel Normalisation While Golan Stays Occupied

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa said Syria will not normalise relations with Israel while the Golan Heights remain under Israeli occupation, distancing Damascus from the 2020 Abraham Accords signed by several Arab states. In an interview with Saudi magazine Al-Majalla, Sharaa argued that any diplomatic upgrade must be preceded by a return to terms comparable to the 1974 UN-brokered disengagement agreement, which created a demilitarised zone between the two countries. Sharaa’s remarks come as Israeli and Syrian officials hold intermittent security talks and after an Israeli drone strike south of Damascus killed eight Syrian soldiers earlier this week. He warned that Israel’s moves in the Golan and repeated incursions into Syrian territory risk inflaming sectarian tensions; clashes in the Druze-majority province of Suweida have already claimed more than 1,000 lives. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking to a Druze audience, dismissed Sharaa’s stance, saying, "I’m not naive; I know who we’re dealing with."