Israel presents Syria with 'Camp David' style security proposal that would see the south 'demilitarised'

Israel has presented Syria with a comprehensive proposal for a security arrangement in the south of the country, which would create demilitarised zones in the area between Damascus and the Golan Heights, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani are due to discuss the matter in London on Wednesday, according to reports.

The Israeli proposal is reportedly based on the 1979 Camp David Treaty between Egypt and Israel, which created three zones in the Sinai Peninsula with different levels of demilitarisation before it was returned to Egypt, Axios reported.

The Israeli plan says that the area southwest of Damascus will be divided into three zones, putting strict limits on the forces and weapons Syria will be allowed to deploy there. It will also create a no-fly zone there, with no Syrian military aircraft allowed to operate in the skies.

Following the fall of the regime of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel proceeded to violate a disengagement agreement in place between Syria and Israel since 1974, occupying areas of Syria beyond the Golan Heights, including the strategic peak of Mount Hermon.

Under the Israeli plan, Israel will gradually withdraw its forces from most of this territory but will keep Mount Hermon.

The demilitarised buffer zone specified by the 1974 disengagement agreement will also be extended by two kilometres on the Syrian side.

In a strip of land next to the buffer zone, Syria will only be permitted to maintain police and internal security forces, with no troops or heavy weapons allowed, Axios reported.

Israel has long demanded that Syria south of Damascus be demilitarised. It has also openly discussed the partition of Syria and carried out regular airstrikes on Syrian territory, while positioning itself as a “protector” of Syria’s Druze community, which is mostly based in the southern province of Suweida.

Israel intervened during a violent conflict which broke out in July between Druze militias on one side and Bedouin fighters and government forces on the other, bombing Syrian military positions as well as the defence ministry building in Damascus.

Israel has taken advantage of Syria’s weakness following 14 years of brutal civil war to try to extend its influence in the country.

Axios said that the Israeli proposal represented "maximalist" demands, which would force Syria to limit military deployment in its own territory while changing nothing on the Israeli side.

According to Axios, the deal would also allow Israel an aerial corridor across Syrian territory, which would allow it to reach and strike Iranian territory.

Iran was a key backer of the Assad regime before its fall and the new Syrian authorities have been hostile to Tehran ever since, with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa previously noting that Syria and Israel had "common enemies".

Al-Sharaa is due to attend the UN General Assembly in New York later this month, becoming the first Syrian leader to address the body since 1967.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes, is also expected to attend.

There has been some speculation that the two leaders will hold a meeting there, however an Israeli official told Axios that the likelihood of that is low, with Sharaa ruling out a permanent peace deal as long as Israel continues to occupy the Golan Heights, which it shows no signs of giving up.