Dropping bombs and dialogue? Israel-Syria peace talks right now are ‘absolutely mind-boggling’

The Israeli military strike on southern Syria this week is “concerning” in view of the “unexpected opportunity” for a potential peace agreement with the new government there, Israel’s former deputy security adviser Chuck Freilich said on the Haaretz Podcast.

On Tuesday, the IDF struck Syrian army forces that had entered the city of Sweida to prevent harm to Druze communities and ensure the demilitarization of the area. The action was strongly denounced by the Syrian government.

While Freilich said he understands that it was “part of the post-October 7 policy of not allowing potential threats to evolve on any of Israel's borders,” he believed the limited nature of the Syrian military intervention and the “channels of communication” that now exist could have been “used to reach some understanding.” Instead, he said, the Netanyahu government “seems to be taking a really absolutist approach.”

Freilich told podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer in their conversation that in his view, the government headed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa is “saying the right things” regarding Israel and, more importantly, backing up their words with actions.

“They’re talking to us, and they seem to be willing to reach some sort of agreement,” he said, noting that they refrained from condemning Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities and “has thrown the Iranians and Hezbollah out of Syria. They are strongly anti-Iranian, probably as much as we are. So there’s a meeting of interests here that we should be really working to take advantage of.”

“The fact that this is going on is absolutely mind-boggling, if one considers the history between Israel and Syria.”

Freilich said that he would be “thrilled” to see U.S. President Donald Trump’s vision of Syria joining the Abraham Accords manifest in the near future, but he cautioned that it may be “a bridge too far” at the moment, and a more limited non-belligerence treaty is more realistic in the short-term.

Freilich also discussed the aftermath of the 12-day Israel-Iran war on the podcast, explaining that the most conservative estimates establish that the attack on Iranian nuclear sites set the country’s nuclearization program back by several years.

The only way to ensure long-term protection from a nuclear Iran, he emphasized, is diplomacy.

“A nuclear deal is the only way that we can ensure that they don't cross the threshold for the long-term. Military action has now gained up to four years, but if they want to reconstitute they can because they have the know-how. The only way to achieve an indefinite freeze on the program is a deal.”

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Read more:

Opinion | Israel Should Help Shape a New Syria. But It Must Do So Carefully, Quietly and Quickly

Analysis | Fresh Syria Violence Undercuts the Optimism Over Ties Between Israel and the New Regime

Syrians Abroad Dismiss Talk of Normalization With Israel: 'We Fear the Consequences, Especially for Palestinians'

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