Israel and Syria are in close contact and have held face-to-face meetings in recent weeks to try to ease tensions and avoid conflict along the border between the two longtime enemies, according to five people familiar with the matter
The contacts began after indirect talks through intermediaries since the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham toppled former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December, according to two Syrian sources, two Western sources and a regional intelligence source.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, as the two countries do not have official relations and have a history of rivalry.
The direct meetings and their scope have not been previously reported.
On the Syrian side, the talks were led by Ahmad al-Dalati, a senior security official appointed governor of Quneitra province, which borders the Golan Heights.
Dalati also recently took over security in Syria’s southern province of Sweida, home to the country’s Druze minority.
It was not immediately clear who participated in the meetings on the Israeli side, but two sources said they were security officials.
Three of the sources said there had been several rounds of face-to-face meetings in the border region, including in Israeli-controlled areas.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry and Syrian officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Published in 05/27/2025 17h11
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.
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