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Israel Courts Syria and Lebanon but Bars Golan Heights Talks

57 posts • OpenAI (o3)

Updated Jun 30, 2025, 07:07 PM

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Monday that Israel is interested in establishing official diplomatic relations with neighbouring Syria and Lebanon, signalling a potential expansion of the US-brokered Abraham Accords beyond the Gulf and North Africa. Speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem alongside Austria’s foreign minister, Sa’ar described the outreach as part of a broader effort to draw more countries into what he called “the circle of peace and normalisation.”

Sa’ar stressed, however, that Israel will not negotiate the status of the Golan Heights in any future agreement. “In any peace deal, the Golan will remain part of the State of Israel,” he said. Israel seized most of the strategic plateau from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and formally annexed it in 1981—a move not recognised by the United Nations.

The overture comes amid shifting regional dynamics after the December 2024 overthrow of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and the weakening of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. While Israeli officials see an opening for diplomacy, neither Damascus nor Beirut has publicly responded to the proposal, and longstanding disputes over occupied territory and security remain formidable obstacles.

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#Israeli #Israel #Syria #Lebanon #US #Abraham Accords #Gulf #North Africa #Jerusalem #Austria #Golan Heights #Golan #State of Israel #United Nations #Syrian #Iran #Hezbollah #Damascus #Beirut

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Sources

english.alarabiya.net(3)trt.global(2)farsi.alarabiya.net(2)jpost.com(2)

DW Español

@dw_espanol

Israel says it is interested in normalizing relations with Lebanon and Syria The Israeli Foreign Minister, Gideon Saar, said on Monday that Israel is committed to an approach within the framework of the Abraham Accords. However, he noted that Israel does not plan to abandon the part of the plateau

Eyal Yakoby

@EYakoby

BREAKING: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says Israel is “interested” in normalizing ties with Syria and Lebanon. Strange—anti-Israel propagandists keep claiming Israel wants to conquer them for a so-called “Greater Israel.”