Talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa over a security agreement are ‘imminent’, Israeli media reported on Saturday, citing a Syrian source close to the President.
The talks suggest that a security agreement between the two countries could soon be signed, Israeli outlet i24News said, adding that a major breakthrough in negotiations has been made.
The report adds that the agreement could be signed in a high-level Syrian-Israeli meeting hosted by a European state.
The Syrian source further indicated that the progress is due to "considerable efforts exerted by US President Donald Trump".
The report comes after Syrian Foreign Minister Asad al-Shaibani announced last month that Damascus expects to reach a security agreement with Tel Aviv before the end of the year, based on the 1974 disengagement agreement.
Al-Shaibani noted that the security agreement will have "minor amendments" and will not include new buffer zones.
According to Israeli sources speaking to i24News, the Israeli army may withdraw from some of the nine positions it currently occupies, but only on the condition that a comprehensive peace agreement is signed with Syria.
Despite the reports, Netanyahu recently said al-Sharaa "has begun taking steps that Tel Aviv will not accept".
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation recently reported that Netanyahu sharply criticised al-Sharaa during a Security Cabinet meeting, following the latter's return from the White House.
Netanyahu said that al-Sharaa was "trying to bring Russian forces to the Syria-Israel border".
This comes after al-Sharaa told Trump during his visit to Washington that Israel had violated the 1974 Disengagement Agreement, expanded its military presence inside Syrian territory, expelled UN forces, and carried out over a thousand attacks, including in sensitive areas such as the Ministry of Defence building.
The Syrian president highlighted that Damascus has refrained from a military response to the violations and has continued to rebuild following the fall of the Assad regime.
Following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel has regularly launched airstrikes on Syria. Israeli forces have claimed some of the attacks were to "protect" Syria’s Druze community, amid clashes between Druze militias based in Suweida province, government forces, and Bedouin tribal fighters.
Israel, which has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967, has also invaded areas of southwestern Syria beyond the 1974 disengagement lines.