Footage circulated Tuesday on Syrian media showed forces from President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s General Security Service driving past IDF vehicles near the town of Khan Arnabeh, in the Syrian-controlled section of the Golan Heights.
The area is one where limited Syrian military and police presence is permitted under long-standing understandings, and the Israeli troops were believed to be present temporarily during arrest and search operations.
Syrian regime forces driving past IDF vehicles near the town of Khan Arnabeh, in the Syrian-controlled section of the Golan Heights
The unusual video, showing armed Syrian personnel moving in pickup trucks with weapons drawn close to Israeli soldiers, surfaced shortly after at least two Syrian civilians were wounded by what the IDF described as “warning fire.” The army said the incident followed rioting and stone-throwing at troops operating in Khan Arnabeh. Soldiers fired in the air and withdrew to secured positions, according to the IDF.
Earlier Tuesday, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied a report in the Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper claiming Israel and Syria had reached a security agreement that Netanyahu later blocked. “The report is complete fake news,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. “There were contacts and meetings under U.S. auspices, but matters were never brought to the point of agreements or understandings with Syria.”
For months, regional media have reported on backchannel talks between Israel and Syria about a potential security arrangement. Israeli officials have sought the demilitarization of southern Syria and guarantees for the safety of the Druze minority concentrated in Sweida province.
The discussions come amid U.S. pressure to advance the issue and after U.S. President Donald Trump granted political backing to al-Sharaa’s government. On Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel “hopes to reach a demilitarization agreement in southern Syria, but we are preserving our assets.”
Last week, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Washington is “very satisfied with the results displayed, through hard work and determination, in the Country of Syria” and would work to ensure the government continues “to build a true and prosperous Country.” He made the remarks the same day he held a phone call with Netanyahu, during which he invited the prime minister to Washington; Syria also came up in that discussion.
Trump’s comments came days after an unusual clash involving Israeli forces in the southern Syrian village of Beit Jinn, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) from the Israeli border, where six Israeli soldiers were wounded — three of them seriously — in firefights with gunmen from the Islamist group Jama’a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group). The U.S. president said one contributing factor to Syria’s progress, in his view, was his decision to lift severe sanctions on the country, a move he believes was “truly appreciated by Syria, its Leadership, and its People!”
“It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria,” Trump added, “and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State.”