Trump Succeeds in Strengthening His Vision for Syria: Repeal of the "Caesar Act" and Negotiations Excluding the Golan

Two days after the visit of the U.S. Ambassador to Ankara, Tom Barrack, to Israel and his meeting with its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid tense atmosphere between Washington and Tel Aviv over the Syria and Gaza files, U.S. President Donald Trump came out to remind of his decision during his first term to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, occupied since 1967.

This was not a casual reference but came within the context of the U.S.-Israeli debate regarding the new regime in Syria, and Trump and his team's objection to the approach Netanyahu has been following since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on December 8 of last year. This approach exploited the chaos following the regime's fall to occupy the buffer zone under the 1974 disengagement agreement, advance into the countryside of Quneitra, Daraa, and Damascus, and position itself at the summit of Mount Hermon, in addition to presenting Tel Aviv as the protector of Syrian minorities, especially the Druze in Sweida Governorate.

While Trump sought to benefit from the change in Syria to push the new regime towards concluding a security agreement with Israel, Netanyahu presented a series of conditions that are difficult for Damascus to accept, such as making the entire southern Syria a demilitarized zone, not withdrawing from Mount Hermon, and opening a corridor to Sweida.

This led to a deadlock in the negotiations that were sponsored by America between Syria and Israel. Damascus considered the minimum to proceed in negotiations to be an Israeli withdrawal to the 1974 line, postponing the discussion of the Golan file for the present time.

This was confirmed by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, who earlier this month stated that Damascus cannot proceed with a security agreement with Israel while it occupies new parts of the country. He demanded that conditions on the map return to "what they were before December 8, 2024."

To break the deadlock, Barrack's visit to Israel took place. According to Israeli Channel 12, Netanyahu informed the U.S. envoy that he intends soon to appoint a head for the negotiation delegation with Syria to replace Ron Dermer, who resigned from his position.

Then came Trump's reminder of his decision to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan. Thus, the U.S. president wanted to emphasize that the Heights would be excluded from negotiations, unlike the territories Israel occupied after December 8, which withdrawal from them would pave the way for the security agreement and later provide suitable conditions for Syria to join the Abraham Accords.

Trump's position includes a reassuring message to Israel, hoping it will help restore momentum to the negotiation track with Syria.

Here too, close attention must be paid to the U.S. Senate's decision, following the House of Representatives' decision, at the White House's urging, to repeal the "Caesar Act" imposed on Syria since 2019.

The repeal of this law, even if restricted by several conditions, opens wide the door for the return of foreign investments to Syria and enables the new regime to start the reconstruction process.

This proves the translation of the U.S. embrace of the new regime into practical measures. At the same time, it sends a clear message to Israel that America's interest in Syria and the Middle East in general requires it to return to negotiations with Damascus and facilitate reaching the security agreement.