Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance with Israel’s troops in illegally occupied territory in southern Syria has angered Damascus, and raised further doubts over whether a security deal between the two countries can be agreed.

Netanyahu’s Wednesday visit – accompanied by several of his senior officials – signals that he is not planning to shift from his hardline position on Syria, despite encouragement from the United States.

Israel seized territory in the Syrian Golan Heights following the 1967 war and has held it ever since. However, following the fall of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Israel violated a 1974 agreement and again invaded its neighbour’s territory, occupying more land along the border as part of a “buffer zone”, including the

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