Dermer to meet Syrian FM in Paris to discuss Israeli maps for south Syria border agreement

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will meet Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani tomorrow in Paris to discuss a new Israeli proposal for a security agreement regarding southwest Syria, according to Axios.

The two will be joined by US Syria envoy Tom Barrack to discuss the draft that Israel submitted several weeks ago, according to the report.

Israel wants a no-fly zone and demilitarized zone over its border in Syria, with no limits on Israeli deployment on its own territory.

Two officials tell Axios that the Israeli proposal is based on its 1979 agreement with Egypt, which divided the Sinai into three zones, each with its own limits on forces. The limits are strictest closest to Israel’s border.

The area closest to the border would have no Syrian military forces, but would allow police and domestic security forces. Syrian aircraft would be banned from flying over the territory between Damascus and the Israeli border.

A source tells Axios that Israel wants to maintain an air corridor there so that it can more easily strike Iran if needed.

In return, Israel would withdraw in stages from the buffer zone it established since Bashar al-Assad fell, but would remain on the peak of the Hermon, which it captured from Syria.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is angling for a meeting with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the UN General Assembly next week, according to an Israeli official, who adds that such a meeting is not likely to occur.