Israel interested in ties with Syria and Lebanon foreign minister says

JERUSALEM - Israel is interested in establishing official diplomatic ties with old foes Syria and Lebanon, but will not negotiate the fate of the Golan Heights in any peace agreement, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a press conference on Monday.

Relations in the region were thrown into uncertainty by more than a year of fighting between Israel and Lebanon from late 2023, in parallel to the war in Gaza, and by the overthrow of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after capturing most of the area from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.

In May, Reuters reported that Israel and Syrias new Islamist rulers were in direct contact and had held face-to-face meetings aimed at calming tensions and preventing conflict in the border region between the enemies.

U.S. President Donald Trump met Syrias president in Saudi Arabia in the same month and urged him to normalise ties with Israel, making a surprise announcement that the U.S. would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government.

Soon after Syrias Assad was toppled, Israeli troops moved into a demilitarised zone inside Syria, including the Syrian side of strategic Mount Hermon, which overlooks Damascus. REUTERS

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