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Middle East
Sweida Corridor Emerges as Sticking Point in Israel-Syria Talks
What Happened
Normalization talks between Israel and Syria have broken down on the matter of establishing a ‘humanitarian corridor’ between Israel and the southern Syrian province of Sweida.
Why It Matters
Expectations should be tempered over what is actually under discussion. The Reuters story that broke the news called it a ‘security pact’; Prime Minister Netanyahu alluded to serious negotiations underway in his UN speech; and US special envoy Tom Barrack called it a ‘de-escalation agreement.’ Barrack’s characterization is likely the most accurate. This is an early process of de-escalation, one that opens the door to future progress. In other words, it’s a low bar for being able to hammer out an agreement.
That even this minor step is so daunting is down to the fundamentally conflicting interests involved. The Israeli government wants a weak, fractured, and thus geopolitically neutered Syrian state on its borders, and it is framing moves in this direction as a humanitarian mission to protect the Druze minority in Syria (a community that has been the target of organized violence after the fall of the Assad regime). This strategy and the so-called ‘David’s Corridor’ was explored in a recent article on Geopolitical Monitor. On the other side is Syria and its new patron in Riyadh, backed by the United States, who want to see the Syrian state be rebuilt and contribute positively to regional stability. This creates a dynamic where Israel must publicly play ball and appear to be working toward normalization.
Yet what Israel actually does will be far more telling. Given that the new Syrian regime seemed amenable to a de-militarized zone along the southern border, reportedly including the entire province of Sweida, the ask for the humanitarian corridor must have been significant to have upended the hoped-for diplomatic breakthrough ahead of the UN General Assembly. Israel had already been working to expand contacts with Druze militias in Sweida in the hope of organizing them into an effective power bloc within the new Syrian state. The humanitarian corridor and the ground-level presence it would have entailed could represent further efforts in this direction.
