Last-minute snag halts Syria-'Israel' security pact over 'Israeli' corridor demand

Efforts to reach a security pact between Syria and 'Israel' have hit a last-minute snag over 'Israel's' demand that it be allowed to open a "humanitarian corridor" to Syria's southern province of Sweida, four sources familiar with the talks told Reuters.

Syria and 'Israel' had come close in recent weeks to agreeing the broad outlines of a pact after months of US-brokered talks in Baku, Paris, and London that accelerated in the lead-up to the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.

The pact was intended to create a demilitarized zone that would include the province of Sweida, where sectarian violence in July killed hundreds of people from the Druze. 'Israel', which has a 120,000-strong Druze minority whose men serve in the 'Israeli' military, has claimed it will protect the sect and carried out military strikes in Syria under the banner of defending it.

In earlier talks in Paris, 'Israel' asked to open a land corridor to Sweida for aid, but Syria rejected the request as a breach of its sovereignty. 'Israel' reintroduced the demand at a late stage in the talks, according to two 'Israeli' officials, a Syrian source, and a source in Washington briefed on the talks.

The Syrian source and the source in Washington said the renewed 'Israeli' demand had derailed plans to announce a deal this week. The new sticking point has not been previously reported.

The State Department, the office of 'Israeli' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Syria's foreign ministry did not respond to questions on the contours of the deal or the sticking points.

US envoy Tom Barrack, who has been brokering the talks between Syria and 'Israel', said on Tuesday the longtime foes were close to striking a "de-escalation agreement" in which 'Israel' would stop its attacks and Syria would agree not to move any machinery or heavy equipment near the border with 'Israel'.

He said it would serve as the first step towards the security deal that the two countries have been negotiating. One diplomat familiar with the matter said it appeared that the US was "scaling down from a security deal to a de-escalation deal."

Speaking shortly before Barrack at an event in New York, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa expressed concern that 'Israel' may be stalling the talks. "We are scared of Israel. We are worried about Israel. It's not the other way around," he said.

A Syrian official was cited by Reuters as saying that conversations before the UN General Assembly began were "positive," but there had been no further conversations with 'Israeli' officials this week.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on Friday, Netanyahu said he believed an agreement could be reached with Syria that would respect its sovereignty and protect both 'Israel' and the security of minorities in the region.

His office said on Wednesday that concluding ongoing negotiations was "contingent on ensuring the interests of' Israel', which include, inter alia, the demilitarization of south-western Syria and preserving the safety and security of the Druze in Syria."