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Source: https://www.ynetnews.com/opinions-analysis/article/ryobud2ife
Israel Weighs Future Direction of Syria under al-Sharaa
(Ynet News) Dr. Michael Milshtein - External pressure - particularly from the U.S. - is mounting for an Israeli withdrawal from the security zone Israel seized near the Golan Heights immediately after the fall of the Assad regime, and for talks with Damascus on a security arrangement, essentially a renewal of the 1974 Agreement on Disengagement following the Yom Kippur War. Syrian President al-Sharaa, in a recent interview with Al Jazeera, expressed support for a security agreement with Israel but he said this would not come at the expense of Damascus' demand for sovereignty over the Golan Heights. "The displacement from the Golan is embedded in my identity because my family comes from the area," al-Sharaa explained. In new school textbooks being published in Syria, alongside strong hostility toward Iran, they also contain negative attitudes toward Israel. There is, however, a difference from the Assad era: Israel is referred to by name and the purpose of the conflict with it is not defined as advancing toward its annihilation or as an expression of support for the Palestinian cause. In the country's media discourse and among religious figures, no one is talking about peace or normalization, but many support advancing some form of arrangement between the two countries. The writer is a senior researcher at Tel Aviv University's Moshe Dayan Center.