Israeli prime minister and top officials visit Syria ‘buffer zone’ as Israel-Syria talks stall

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led a large group of Israeli officials and military commanders to the buffer zone between Israel and Syria on November 19. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took control of the area after the regime of dictator Bashar al Assad fell on December 8, 2024. Israel’s presence on Syrian soil has been a source of tension between the new Syrian transitional government and Jerusalem.

The visit took place two days after Israeli media outlets reported that talks between Israel and Syria “for a landmark security deal are currently at a dead end.” It also came nine days after Syrian transitional President Ahmad al Sharaa met US President Donald Trump at the White House.

Syria’s foreign ministry condemned the visit by Israeli leaders. Russia’s ambassador to the UN also condemned  Israel’s actions on the Golan, claiming that they pose a threat to the region.

The visit to the buffer zone included a large number of Israeli officials. The Israeli Government Press Office said in a statement that Netanyahu “visited the buffer zone in Syria, together with Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar, IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, [head of the Shin Bet] Director David Zini, National Security Council Acting Director Gil Reich, Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, head of IDF Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Rafi Milo, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj.-Gen. Ghassan Alian, and IDF 210th Division Commander Brig.-Gen. Yair Pelai.” The event appears to be the largest public visit by Israeli officials since the IDF took over areas of the buffer zone.

On December 8, 2024, as the Assad regime collapsed, the IDF seized areas along the buffer zone that served as a ceasefire line between Syria and Israel since 1974. The line runs along the top of the Golan Heights, which the IDF took from Syria in 1967. The IDF also took control of the summit of Mount Hermon after Assad’s fall. Previously, Israeli troops had controlled a lower peak near the top but not the summit, which was in Syrian hands. Syria and most of the international community do not recognize Israel’s control of the Golan Heights or the new areas the IDF has taken over.

Netanyahu “went to an IDF post where he observed the sector, and later held a security discussion. [He] also met with regular and reserve soldiers, praised their activity during the war and in maintaining security in the area, and answered their questions,” Israel’s Government Press Office said in a statement.

On November 17, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that “the IDF will remain on Mount Hermon’s peak and in the security zone.” These comments came as reports indicated that talks between Syria and Israel about a security agreement had stalled. Netanyahu said that Israel’s presence in Syria is of “immense importance.”

The Times of Israel reported that “Israel is reportedly insisting on remaining deployed to the nine posts it seized after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, unless the new ruling government agrees to a full peace deal and normalization.” Sharaa had said in Washington on November 12 that Israel should withdraw to the December 8 line, which is the 1974 ceasefire boundary.

Netanyahu’s visit to the buffer zone with Syria received significant attention in Arabic media. Al Arabiya noted that Netanyahu said, “We attach great importance to our capabilities here, both defensive and offensive, to protect our Druze allies, and above all to protect the State of Israel and its northern border opposite the Golan Heights.” Israeli officials have vowed to protect the Druze in Syria over the last 10 months and carried out airstrikes on the new Syrian government when tensions between Damascus and the Druze rose.

Tensions along the Golan border have reduced in recent months after IDF raids in July detained Iranian-linked cells near the Golan. However, Russian military officials visited an area of Syria near the Golan on November 17. Israeli media also said the IDF detained several suspects, including IDF soldiers and Syrians, who were reportedly involved in smuggling weapons from Syria.

The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that “Syria strongly condemned the illegal visit made by the Israeli occupation’s Prime Minister, along with Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs and a number of occupation officials to the southern region of the Syrian Arab Republic.” The Syrian Foreign Ministry stated, “We affirm that the visit represents a new attempt to impose a de facto situation that contradicts relevant UN Security Council resolutions and falls within the occupation’s policies aimed at consolidating its aggression and continuing its violations of Syrian territory.” 

Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDD’s Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel’s Battle for Security in Gaza (2024).