the safety and security of the Druze in Syria. Remember the clashes which erupted in July 2025 in Sweida, the Druze-heavy southern region of Syria? Israel bombed the area in defence of the Druze. The Druze are an ethno-religious community present in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel. The Golan heights is home to 25 thousand Druze and Israeli settlers. So, Netanyahu is firm — No vacating the Golan Heights. Israel also gets to keep the Mount Hermon outpost indefinitely for security. So, all things considered, Syria and Israel are, at best, negotiating what can only be called a security-first, peace-later pact.
There’s one concern though. How will Turkiye and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan view Syria’s moves for peace with Israel? Because get this: There’s no love lost between Erdogan and Netanyahu; especially after Erdogan succeeded in installing al-Sharaa in Damascus and turning Syria into a proxy dependent on Turkiye — something that even Trump acknowledged when he hosted Erdogan for talks in the White House.
I began by quoting what al-Sharaa had to tell Gen. Petraeus: “Someone who went through war is one who knows most the importance of peace”. I want to end by quoting another Syrian, a woman, who along with her compatriots gathered outside the U.N. headquarters to celebrate the presence of al-Sharaa in the city. This woman, who sported a “Make Syria Great Again” cap, had something equally profound to say. ‘No peace, no development,’ she said, hoping that the two sides can make peace. Like her, many around the world will wonder: Can Israel and Syria overcome the hesitations of history and go from being foes to being friends?
