Amid Israel’s devastating war against Hamas in Gaza and its diplomatic rift with multiple countries at the United Nations this week, the last development one would expect is another Arab country, perhaps two, to be standing on the cusp of a historic agreement with Israel. But that is exactly what is happening.
Syria and Israel are reportedly close to finalizing a bilateral security agreement. It’s not yet a done deal and it wouldn’t be a full-fledged normalization of diplomatic relations, as with the Abraham Accords that Israel signed with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, among others, in 2020. But even the much more limited deal under discussion is arguably more significant than those pacts. That’s because the Abraham Accords involved countries that were not at war with Israel and did not border it.
By contrast, Syria and Israel are still technically at war with each other, and their shared border remains militarized and explosive. A de-escalation would be a truly welcome prospect, one that, despite the raging conflict in Gaza, would represent a step toward a much more stable Middle East.