Israel’s Netanyahu says deal with Syria possible but demands buffer zone

US is pushing for a non-aggression pact between Israel, Syria, but Netanyahu has shown little appetite for compromise.Published On 2 Dec 2025Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said an agreement with Syria is achievable, outlining expectations that Syrian authorities establish a demilitarised buffer zone stretching from Damascus to Jabal al-Sheikh, which Israel currently occupies.Netanyahu’s comments on Tuesday came a day after US President Donald Trump said he wanted both Syria and Israel to “have a long and prosperous relationship together”.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4AI threatens to widen inequality among states: UNlist 2 of 4Sudan’s paramilitary RSF claims control of key city of Babnusalist 3 of 4Trump’s boat bombings: How the US has long used ‘double-tap’ strikeslist 4 of 4Israel targeted Al Shifa Hospital “the same way” as military systemsend of listTalks have been ongoing over a security agreement between Israel and Syria for months, but appear to have made little progress in recent weeks.Syria does not formally recognise Israel, which has expanded its illegal occupation of Syrian territory over the last year.Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war and later illegally annexed the area, a move recognised by the United States but rejected by most of the international community.Then, after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, it reneged on a 1974 agreement and expanded further into Syrian territory, seizing areas including the whole of Jabal al-Sheikh, a mountain that commands views over northern Israel and southern Syria.Israel has repeatedly attacked Syria in the last year, despite the new government in Damascus’s insistence that it is not looking for a fight. Most recently, an Israeli raid last Friday killed 13 people in the town of Beit Jinn, southwest of Damascus.“What we expect Syria to do is, of course, to establish a demilitarised buffer zone from Damascus to the buffer area, including the approaches to Mount Hermon and the Hermon peak,” Netanyahu said, using the Israeli name for Jabal al-Sheikh, during a visit to wounded soldiers in central Israel.