The Syrian authorities respond firmly to Netanyahu's visit to Mount Hermon and warn against escalating tensions

The Syrian authorities responded firmly to the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Mount Hermon. During his visit to the command center that Israel occupied following the change of power in Damascus on December 8, 2024, Netanyahu made it clear that the Israeli army would not abandon these positions.

On September 9, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Muwafaq Tarif, issued a strongly worded statement in which he accused Damascus of deliberately strangling Suwayda Governorate. He reported that he had sent official letters to United Nations agencies and embassies of major foreign countries.

He mentioned in these messages that the siege of Suwayda had intensified significantly over the past two weeks, as fuel and food supplies were cut off, hospitals were paralyzed due to a lack of fuel for generators, and electricity and Internet services were cut off. Tarif called on all countries to use all channels of influence before it is too late.

Israel's move, represented by Netanyahu's visit to Mount Hermon, constitutes a challenge to the communication channel established in recent weeks between the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli intelligence service (Mossad).

The heads of the two agencies held a secret meeting in Jordan on August 23 to discuss all security issues, including Israel’s bombing of Syrian territory, which resumed in August.

During the consultations, Damascus reportedly demanded that the Israelis stop air strikes and return to the deconfliction mechanism, but the Mossad apparently clarified that this is not possible at the present time.

In a separate context, and according to several reports, the possibility of withdrawing Israeli army units from Syrian territory was discussed.