In a surprising but one would say necessary twist, Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani has held a rare and possibly only recorded meeting with an Israeli delegation in Paris, France. This was reported by the the Syrian state-run News Agency. Washington had its role in organizing the rare talks. The United States hopes that Syria will now normalize relations with Israel like Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Al – Shibani met with the Tel Aviv delegation today to discuss de-escalating tensions and the restoration of the 1974 armistice. This was reported by SANA news agency. Government officials in Damascus has acknowledged holding indirect talks with the Israelis to diffuse tensions.
There was no immediate confirmation of such a meeting from Israel. Tensions have soared between the two neighbouring countries following the overthrow of Syrian president Bashar Assad in December. Israeli forces seized control of a UN-patrolled buffer zone in Syria shortly after Assad’s overthrow and carried out airstrikes on military sites in what officials said was aimed at creating a demilitarised zone south of Damascus. Israel has said it will not allow hostile forces to establish themselves along the frontier, as Iranian-backed groups did during Assad’s rule. It distrusts Syria’s new government, which is led by former Islamist insurgents. Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaida commander who severed ties with the militant group years ago, has pledged to build a new country that respects the rights of minorities, but sectarian violence has erupted on a number of occasions, raising concerns about the country’s fragile transition.
Israel stepped up its intervention when violence erupted in Syria’s Sweida province last month between Bedouin clans and government forces on one side and armed groups from the Druze religious minority on the other.
It is unexpected that Israel did not confirm the meeting in France. At the heart of it could be fears that some among its citizenry will oppose any withdrawal from the Golan heights. That will never come to pass as long as Benyamin Netanyahu remains Israeli Prime Minister. Israel occupied and annexed the Golan heights in 1947 from Syria when the failed Yom Kippur War ended. Israel has been seeking to under mine the state from as far back as when the Arab Spring started in 2011. The Syrian civil war that had sort to over throw President Bashir Al Assad had started from then. Israel has sort to turn the overthrow of Assad to its advantage from the time of last year 2024. Although tensions between Netanyahu’s government and Damascus have flared the fragile truce remains in place. Israel remains poised like a viper on Syria’s north eastern border ready to strike.
Israel has long since shown considerable favour to the Druze religious group due to its loyalty. The Druze are persecuted in neighbouring Muslim states due to their bizarre brand of beliefs.
Another danger in Syria is the risk of kidnappings.
It’s been just over a month since Hamza al-Amareen went missing. The 33-year-old Syrian, head of an emergency response center for the country’s civil defense organization, the White Helmets, was abducted from his vehicle on July 16. He had just returned from fighting fires elsewhere and was assisting a United Nations team with evacuations after recent violence in the Sweida area, which is home to Syria’s Druze minority. After his family had some brief contact with his kidnappers by phone, relatives say they have not heard from or about the father of three again. “Why would he be kidnapped in this way?” al-Amareen’s family told DW in an emailed interview “Because humanitarian workers are usually not targeted; they have nothing to do with any conflict. We were shocked because [Hamza] has no connection to any side: His mission was purely humanitarian.”
Kidnappings like the example in the extract above appear to be politically motivated. Al-Amareen may have been kidnapped due to his leadership in the country’s white helmets group. The white helmets are a volunteer group of paramedics that have assisted in recuing the destitute in Syria since civil war began. The motive of kidnapping appears to be concerned with sending a message. That no one in Syria politically affiliated or not is safe. His kidnapping could have been a mistake. Since it happened in the heartland of the Druze’s territory, some have attributed the involvement of the Druze in al-Amareen’s capture. Whatever the motives or by whom the capture of al-Amareen shows that the new government in Damascus has yet to bring stability. There are those in Israel who wish to take further advantage of the carnage. Syrian President Al Sharaa had best clean up his act and find a way to stabilise the situation.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
