Syria-Israel friendship after US lifts sanctions? Israeli foreign minister hints at expansion of Abraham Accords - here's what we know

US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order lifting sanctions on Syria. This comes after Israel said that it is interested in establishing official diplomatic ties with old foes Syria and Lebanon. Earlier, Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff had said that ‘big announcement is expected regarding the Abraham Accords. Previously, in April this year, Trump had met Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh and had urged the post-Assad regime to recognise Israel. He had also announced then that the US would lift the sanctions on Syria. So, is Syria on its way to normalising diplomatic relations with Israel?

Israel hints at normalising ties

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, in a press conference on Monday, said that Israel is interested in establishing official diplomatic ties with old foes Syria and Lebanon, but will not negotiate the fate of the Golan Heights in any peace agreement. Relations in the region were thrown into uncertainty by more than a year of fighting between Israel and Lebanon from late 2023, in parallel to the war in Gaza, and by the overthrow of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Israeli leaders argue that with its rival Iran weakened by this month's 12-day war, other countries in the region have an opportunity to forge ties with Israel. "We have an interest in adding countries such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbours, to the circle of peace and normalisation, while safeguarding Israel's essential and security interests," Saar said at a press conference in Jerusalem. Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 after capturing the territory from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. While most of the international community regards the Golan as occupied Syrian land, US President Donald Trump recognised Israeli sovereignty over it during his first term in office. Following Assad's ousting, Israeli forces moved further into Syrian territory.

Could Syria join Abraham Accords?

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that the Trump administration is expecting Syria to be one of the next countries to join the Abraham Accords. "The president is certainly hopeful that more countries in the region will sign on to the Abraham Accords," Leavitt said.

"When the president [Trump] met with the new president of Syria [Ahmed al-Sharaa] that was one of the requests that [Trump] made; for Syria to sign on to the Abraham Accords," she added.

Announced during the first term of Trump, the Abraham Accords is an agreement under which diplomatic relationship is established between Israel and several Arab states, on the mediation of the US. In 2020, Bahrain and the UAE became the first Arab countries to recognise Israel after Jordan in 1996. Later, Sudan and Morocco also established diplomatic relationships with Israel. In the statement about the Abraham Accords, US said that the goal is to "promote interfaith and intercultural dialogue", "end radicalization and conflict", pursue a vision of peace, security, prosperity in the Middle East", and strengthen "peace based on mutual understanding and coexistence." It further said that the to achieve this goal, the US encourages expansion of "friendly relations" between Israel and its neighbours.

Trump signs executive order

Trump on Monday (June 30) signed an executive order terminating the sanctions program on Syria, and the White House said that it was done to support the country to rebuild after a devastating civil war. This would allow an end to the country's isolation from the international financial system. The move will also allow the US to maintain sanctions on Syria's ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, people linked to chemical weapons activities, the Islamic State and ISIS affiliates and proxies for Iran, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters in a briefing.

The White House in a fact sheet said the order directs the Secretary of State to review the terrorism designations of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a rebel group that Sharaa led that has roots in al Qaeda, as well as Syria's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. It also added that the Trump administration would continue to monitor Syria's progress on key priorities, including “taking concrete steps toward normalising ties with Israel, addressing foreign terrorists, deporting Palestinian terrorists and banning Palestinian terrorist groups.”