Israel Syria Peace

The Israel-Syria peace process is a central issue in Israeli-Arab peacemaking, although often overshadowed by the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Initiatives to jump start this peace track have often failed due to preconditions or disagreements over the terms of negotiations between the Syrian and Israeli governments. The first push towards opening negotiations for an Israel-Syria peace agreement came following the 1994 Madrid Conference. During the conference, ambassador-level negotiations between the two sides were held in Washington D.C., with an emphasis on security arrangements, which led to two meetings between the Israeli and Syrian chiefs of staff - in December 1994 and June 1995.

At the heart of the Israel-Syria peace process is the fate of the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau captured by Israel from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed by the Jewish state in 1981.

Syria has demanded that any peace deal would involve an Israeli withdrawal from the territory, although the extent of that withdrawal along the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) is a key sticking point. The Arab peace initiative of 2002 also preconditions normalized ties between Israel and the Arab world on an Israeli withdrawal from all conquered territories, including the Golan Heights.

In 1995, the Syrians returned to the negotiating table without preconditions; both nations sent their ambassadors to Washington and drew out a detailed plan regarding the future prospects for peace. Although the renewed efforts did not result in a deal, negotiations resumed once again in 1999. These talks came to an end in 2000 following a series of disagreements and the outbreak of the Second Intifada.

The Israeli government has expressed its willingness to return to the negotiating table, but cites continuing Syrian support for terrorist organizations and its close alliance with Iran as impediments to peace. In 2008, Israel-Syria peace talks resumed via indirect negotiations under Turkish sponsorship. These were short-lived and also ended without any major agreement between the two sides. Recently, Jerusalem and Damascus have again expressed interest in trying to reach a deal, although, as with the Palestinian track, there is deep-seated skepticism and mistrust on both sides.

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