Israel has put forward a wide-ranging security plan to the newly installed Syrian leadership, Axios revealed Tuesday, citing individuals familiar with the talks. The proposal includes a detailed map of security zones stretching from Damascus toward the Israeli frontier in the southwest.
The move is viewed as especially significant given the decades of hostility between the two countries. The Trump administration, which has adopted a more supportive position toward Syria’s new president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa — who deposed Bashar al-Assad last December — has quietly played a role in enabling the direct diplomatic channel between Jerusalem and Damascus.
Syria has not yet formally answered Israel’s proposal, which was conveyed several weeks ago. Reports indicate, however, that Damascus is preparing a counteroffer, according to Axios.
On Wednesday, London is set to host discussions on the matter, with Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, and U.S. envoy Tom Barrack all attending. Barrack has been serving as mediator. This marks the third such trilateral gathering. While insiders describe steady progress, they caution that a final accord remains distant.
The goal of the talks is to establish a new framework in place of the outdated 1974 disengagement agreement, which lost its relevance with Assad’s downfall.
Israel’s suggested plan takes inspiration from the 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, which divided the Sinai Peninsula into three sectors — A, B, and C — each with specific demilitarization rules based on their distance from Israel’s border.
The blueprint presented to Syria is ambitious, demanding a wide demilitarized and no-fly zone across Syrian land without offering any comparable concessions on Israel’s side. The territory southwest of Damascus would be broken into three sectors, each imposing different limits on Syrian troops and weapons. Additionally, the current buffer zone would be pushed an extra two kilometers into Syrian territory.
In the strip directly along the border, Syrian military units and heavy arms would not be allowed, though police and internal security personnel could operate. A source also explained that the plan designates the entire region from Damascus’s southwest outskirts to Israel’s border as a no-fly zone for Syrian aircraft.
As part of the exchange, Israel is willing to pull back from Syrian lands captured in recent months, with one notable exception: a vital outpost at the top of Mt. Hermon. A senior Israeli official said Israel insists on keeping a foothold there under any future deal.
Another striking provision, according to a source, is that the proposal preserves Israel’s right to maintain an aerial corridor over Syria leading to Iran, allowing for possible future strikes on Iranian targets if needed.
A separate report indicated that the Trump administration has been actively seeking to secure an initial security arrangement between the two sides before the United Nations General Assembly convenes later this month.
Still, Barrack tempered expectations, clarifying that Israel and Syria are not on the verge of signing a deal, remarking that “there is still more work to do.”
