A Syrian newspaper as well as several Israeli media sources are reporting that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who previously went by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani and is the founder of Syrian al-Qaeda, has met with Israel's National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
While the reports remain unconfirmed by Damascus, The Jerusalem Post says that this was not "the first such meeting" to take place, citing a Syrian source. But Israel quickly denied the reports: "Israel issued a statement denying the claim, noting that Hanegbi is in Washington as part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s delegation visiting the US."
The sources are calling the alleged meeting "a significant step in the Syrian‑Israeli negotiations" as part of potentially moving closer to achieving normalization base on the Abraham Accords.
This could also be part of publicly known efforts to advance "quiet" talk with Israel in order to reach a security status quo. At the moment Israel's military still occupies a large portion of southern Syria, going well beyond the Golan Heights.
Israel's YNet writes that "The expected agreement could include security guarantees, a pledge to counter terrorist activity, measures to curb Iranian influence, and a restriction of terror operatives near the border."
"According to foreign reports, Israel has already used Syrian airspace to strike Iranian targets—suggesting informal coordination between the two nations, even if not official," the outlet adds.
Damascus has continued to claim busting up 'Iranian terror' cells in various parts of the country. It is not expected to prioritize counter-ISIS operations given that many of the Sharaa/HTS government's own members are ISIS or former ISIS.
The prior Assad government had lone been Israel's most formidable regional enemy, given it possessed Russian anti-aircraft systems and hosted Iranian forces. Israel, for its part, was part of the West's covert war to oust Assad.
The timing of these reported Sharaa meetings with top Israeli officials is interesting given that it was only on Monday that the US formally lifted the longtime terror designation against his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Meanwhile, an interesting new revelation on Monday...
JUST IN: TRUMP SAYS NETANYAHU WANTED SANCTIONS LIFTED OFF SYRIA
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) July 8, 2025
“We took the sanctions off [Syria] because we want to give them a chance ... and I would love to be able to — at the right time — take those sanctions off [Iran], give them a chance at rebuilding, because I'd like… pic.twitter.com/dTkxg2vomr
As we highlighted, the fact that Sharaa was a formally designated terrorist didn't stop President Trump from meeting with him during his Saudi visit months ago. Trump even praised him as a "young, attractive guy" who has a "real shot at doing a good job"
Sadly, the message from the White House seems to be that Syria should prioritize ending the long-running state of conflict with Israel, but there's been barely a peep about the massacres being conducted against Syria's ancient Christian, Alawite, and Druze populations.
