Israeli and Syrian Officials Hold Secret Meetings Brokered by Qatar

Senior officials in Israel’s security establishment have recently held meetings with their counterparts in the regime of Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa. The meetings were initiated and mediated by Qatar, given Doha’s close ties with both Syria and Israel.

According to a Middle Eastern source, the talks focused on initial acquaintance and establishing a channel for message exchange to help prevent regional escalation. While Israel publicly remains suspicious of al-Sharaa’s regime, officials in Qatar and other countries, including the United Arab Emirates, have conveyed to Israel that the new Syrian leadership has no intention of initiating conflict, and that such suspicion may be misplaced.

Last week, for the first time, al-Sharaa acknowledged that his regime is engaging in negotiations with Israel through intermediaries, “to calm the situation and prevent loss of control.” Unaffiliated Syrian sources told Haaretz that a delegation of Syrian officials, including two high-ranking regime members, recently visited Israel and met with Israeli security officials at the end of last month.

Reuters reported that the discussions focused on intelligence and security issues, as well as confidence-building steps between the two countries, but did not involve the establishment of formal diplomatic relations. According to a source quoted by Reuters, the mediation efforts began last month after the Syrian president visited the United Arab Emirates.

Yesterday, U.S. President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia. After the meeting, Trump stated that he had told the Syrian leader he hopes he will join the Abraham Accords “once the situation stabilizes,” to which al-Sharaa responded affirmatively.

Earlier this week, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar declared that Israel seeks good relations with the new Syrian regime; a sharp shift from the stance he presented in March following violent clashes between the regime and the Alawite community. At the time, Sa’ar had said about al-Sharaa’s men: “They were jihadists and remain jihadists, even if some now wear suits.”

Al-Sharaa came to power in January, a month after a surprise assault on Damascus by rebel forces led by his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ended the Assad family’s 54-year rule. Previously known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, al-Sharaa joined al-Qaeda insurgents who fought U.S. forces in Iraq following the American invasion. He is still wanted in Iraq on terrorism charges, and the U.S. once offered a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture due to his ties to al-Qaeda.

Al-Sharaa returned to Syria after the outbreak of the civil war in 2011 and led the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, then known as Jabhat al-Nusra. He later rebranded the organization as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and formally cut ties with al-Qaeda. Since assuming the presidency, al-Sharaa’s government has been working to lift the international sanctions still imposed on Syria.