Why Israel Must Stop Occupying Syria Right Now - Opinion - Haaretz.com
Just hours after the downfall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel invaded the demilitarized zone between Syria and the occupied Golan Heights. In response to UN condemnation, the Israeli army claimed that its violation of Syrian sovereignty was necessary for security, "limited and temporary."
However, more than two months later, Israel maintains a presence within and beyond the demilitarized zone, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed last month will be "indefinite." Israel must back off Syria immediately, or squander the opportunity for a post-Assad détente between the two countries.
The Israeli military incursion was initially framed as a short-term measure to address legitimate security concerns surrounding the new Syrian leadership and lingering Iranian influences in Syria. Since then, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as al-Jolani, has recommitted to the 1974 agreement with Israel.
Despite his jihadist origins, al-Jolani has said that Syria does "not want any conflict" with Israel, and that his country will not serve as a "launchpad for attacks" by Iran. Further demonstrating the positive transformation of al-Jolani's Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the new Damascus Governor Maher Marwan boldly proclaimed that "we want peace."
Rather than seizing the opportunity presented by these overtures, the Israeli government is developing a pretext for permanent occupation: Netanyahu instructed the military to "prepare to defend" the city of Jaramana outside Damascus, sparking protests within the Syrian Druze community. Any such protracted stay would blatantly violate the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement and foment increased anti-Israel sentiment among the Syrian population. It would also undermine al-Jolani's domestic credibility and with it his post-Assad reform process, creating a power vacuum that Iran would eagerly fill to revive its Axis of Resistance.
The 1974 Israel-Syria agreement established a demilitarized zone between Syria and the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War. Following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) was stationed in the demilitarized zone to monitor the Israel-Syria ceasefire and lay the groundwork for a "just and durable peace." For the first time since the 1973 war and despite continued UNDOF deployment, Israel has breached the de facto border with Syria, known as the "Purple Line."
In the months since Assad's fall, Israel has constructed outposts along the Syrian border, taking over villages, erecting checkpoints, closing roads, raiding homes, conducting night patrols, displacing residents, and firing on those protesting Israeli troop presence. Satellite imagery obtained by Ha'aretz reveals that the IDF has established at least seven new bases from Syrian Mount Hermon in the north to Tel Kudna in the south. Furthermore, the opportunity presented by Assad's toppling has been used by Israel to escalate airstrikes on Damascus, which have reached an "all-time high."
Israeli army armored vehicles block a road leading to the town of Quneitra, SyriaCredit: Mosa'ab Elshamy,AP
Netanyahu must immediately withdraw IDF troops from Syria and suspend airstrikes that violate Syrian sovereignty. Additional UNDOF peacekeeping forces should be deployed to the demilitarized zone to ensure mutual border security, enabling both parties to recommit to the 1974 agreement as the basis for potential negotiations in the future. Détente would position Israel and Syria to resolve the more intractable issues, such as the final status of the Golan Heights, through an eventual peace treaty.
U.S. President Donald Trump also has a role to play in forging this brighter future, one that can build upon the 2020 Abraham Accords breakthrough. His predecessor already lifted the $10 million bounty on al-Jolani, after sending U.S. diplomats to Damascus for the first time since 2012. If Syria demonstrates further progress on counterterrorism and domestic reforms, Trump should consider removing the formerly Al Qaeda-linked HTS from the list of U.S. terror organizations.
The U.S. president should also consider lifting sanctions against the new Syrian regime and providing it with economic assistance for post-Assad rebuilding, while gradually reducing the American military footprint in Syria (maintaining some to ensure that ISIS prisons remain secure). To verify al-Jolani's progress and coordinate next steps, Trump should promptly send his Middle East team to the Syrian capital.
The historic opportunity for a post-Assad détente between Israel and Syria, following the fall of Assad, is waiting to be seized. With careful orchestration by the two parties and diligent oversight by the United States, the region may not have to wait much longer.
Avraham Spraragen is an M.A. Arab Studies candidate at Georgetown School of Foreign Service and a J.D. candidate at Georgetown Law.