In Syria, Israel Will Not Be Withdrawing

The Israelis are disinclined to trust Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new ruler of Syria. There are too many jihadists who were in his rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) who then became members of the Syrian army but have not shed their ideology. They are not impressed with his having traded his camouflage fatigues for a suit and tie. Al-Sharaa claims to want peace with all of Syria’s neighbors, including Israel, but we now discover that is at a price that the Jewish state is not willing to pay — the withdrawal from all the areas in Syria that the IDF seized just after Assad was deposed. After Hamas’ attacks on October 7, 2023, the IDF decided that it would set up outposts and buffer zones in some of the countries it bordered on. There are now several IDF outposts in Lebanon, between the Litani River and the Israeli border, that are likely to remain even if Hezbollah pulls out completely from the area.

In Syria the Israelis have established a buffer zone inside Syria that extends the full length of the Israeli-Syrian border. Syria wants Israel to return that area; Israel has no intention of leaving. It doesn’t want ever again to risk a Hamas-style attack on Israel coming from just over one of its borders. More on Israel’s buffer zone inside Syria can be found here: “Israel to Maintain Troops in Syria, Defense Chief Says, as US-Backed Talks Resume,” by Ailin Vilches Arguello, Algemeiner, January 9, 2026:

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has warned that Israel’s military forces will remain in Syria even as US-backed negotiations between the two countries move forward, saying the deployment of troops is essential to prevent the Syrian border from becoming a launchpad for infiltration or invasion against the Jewish state.

“Israel’s security policy in Syria … is based on the country’s new defense concept following the events of Oct. 7,” the Israeli defense chief said in a statement Friday, referring to the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel in 2023.

“Under this approach, the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] will actively prevent jihadist organizations and forces from reaching the Israeli border and settlements,” Katz continued.

Following the fall of long-time Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel deployed troops into a buffer zone along the Syrian border to establish a military position aimed at preventing terrorists from launching attacks against the Jewish state.

Since then, the IDF has taken control of the northern part of Mount Hermon and established a security zone in the Golan Heights to protect Israeli communities in the region and in the Galilee from potential terrorist attacks.

“Israel is also committed to protecting the Druze community in Syria and will not allow them to be harmed. We maintain a true fraternal bond with our Druze brothers in Israel, and this policy will apply across all conflict borders and remain in effect,” Katz said in his statement.

Earlier this week, Israeli and Syrian officials revived US-mediated talks, resuming months-long stalled negotiations as Damascus once again calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Syrian territory….

The Syrians keep repeating their demand that the IDF withdraw from Syrian territory, perhaps hoping to wear down the Israeli negotiators. It isn’t going to happen, not even if President Trump, eager to make Syria a member of the Abraham Accords, puts pressure on Jerusalem.

The Syrian government has repeatedly accused Israel of fueling instability with its ongoing strikes, which Israeli officials say are intended as a warning to the country’s new leadership in response to threats against the Druze — an Arab minority whose faith is rooted in Islam and with communities in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel….

It’s misleading to say that the Druze faith is “rooted in Islam.” The Druze do not consider themselves Muslims, not even as an offshoot. They insist “we are not Muslim.”

The Israeli government has previously said it would only agree to a new deal if it safeguarded the country’s security interests, including the demilitarization of parts of southwestern Syria and protections for minority communities.

The Israelis saw that Ahmed al-Sharaa had not dismissed any of the jihadists from the Syrian army; they also saw how Al-Sharaa’s men have attacked the minorities in Syria, killing 1,500 Alawite civilians in Latakia, and more than a thousand Druze in Sweida, as well as recently attacking the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, in Aleppo. Given that record of aggression by the Syrian army, it would be folly for Israel to withdraw from the buffer zone it has constructed north of both the Golan and Mount Hermon. Even if President Trump, who by all accounts was deeply impressed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, calling him a “very strong leader,”a “tough guy,” and a “fighter” with a “real shot at pulling it [Syria] together,” tries to pressure Israel into giving up its buffer zone and returning to its previous border with Syria, no Israeli leader, after all that has happened on October 7, 2023 and since, is going to agree. Instead of “territory for peace,” Israel will offer “peace for peace.” That’s a much fairer exchange.