Is Syria demanding Tripoli and parts of Lebanon in exchange for peace with Israel?

Israeli media reported on Friday that one of the scenarios being discussed as part of a potential peace agreement between Syria and Israel involves Syria annexing parts of Lebanon in exchange for relinquishing part of the occupied Golan Heights to Israel.

The reports, which claim that two proposals are currently on the table, say that Syria would annex the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, along with other areas in northern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.

According to these accounts, the Syrian government is demanding the return of one-third of the Golan Heights territory that Israel occupied before the 1974 disengagement agreement.

According to i24NEWS, citing a source said to be close to Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, "the return of parts of the Golan Heights [...] is critical for domestic public opinion to support such a step".

The source added that Israel must return one-third of the territory it captured before 1974, stating: "There is no such thing as peace for free."

Two settlement scenarios are reportedly under discussion. In the first, Israel would annexe one-third of the Golan, return one-third to Syria, and lease the remaining third from Damascus for 25 years.

The second scenario would see Israel keep two-thirds of the Golan Heights and return the remaining third to Syria, also under a potential lease arrangement. In this version, Syria would also be granted control over Tripoli and other Lebanese areas in the north and the Bekaa Valley.

Syrian claims to Tripoli

The same source reportedly claimed that Syria was seeking to restore sovereignty over the Sunni-majority Tripoli, calling it "one of five regions severed from Syria during the French Mandate to establish the Lebanese state".

The source added that this proposed settlement would involve transferring Tripoli and surrounding predominantly Sunni areas to Syria, in exchange for permitting Israel to construct a pipeline from the Euphrates River as part of a trilateral water-sharing agreement with Turkey and Syria.

The source also claimed that President Ahmed al-Sharaa had shown "unprecedented openness" and had opened direct communication channels with Israel for security and military coordination in southern Syria.

He added that reclaiming parts of the occupied Golan, along with other Syrian territories seized by Israel after the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad, was essential for winning domestic support for any peace agreement. Without it, he warned, al-Sharaa could face serious internal resistance.

The New Arab is unable to independently verify the authenticity of i24NEWS's sources. At the time of publication, the Lebanese government had not issued an official response.

Syria 'ready' to work with US on return to 1974 disengagement deal

The latest reports came as Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said that Damascus was ready to cooperate with Washington to reimplement the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel.

In a statement following a phone call with his American counterpart Marco Rubio, Shaibani said he had expressed Syria's "aspiration to cooperate with the United States to return to the 1974 disengagement agreement".

Syria and Israel have technically been in a state of war since 1948.

Israel’s takeover of the buffer zone along the Syrian border following the fall of Bashar al-Assad last December is considered by the United Nations to be a violation of the 1974 disengagement accord.