Washington suggests demilitarised economic zone along Israel-Syria border

The United States has presented Israel and Syria with a proposal for a security agreement that would establish a joint economic zone along the border, Axios reported on Tuesday.

The initiative is intended to stabilise the security situation along the Israel-Syria frontier and could serve as a first step towards broader diplomatic engagement between the two countries.

The proposal emerged during several hours of talks in Paris on Tuesday. Officials from Israel and the United States, speaking to Axios, said both countries agreed to accelerate the pace of negotiations and to hold more frequent meetings to build confidence.

U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, along with President Trump’s advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, mediated the discussions. A U.S. official described the talks as “very good and candid,” adding that the focus was on “cooperation instead of repudiation.”

A senior Israeli official said both sides expressed a willingness to implement confidence-building measures and pursue a security agreement consistent with President Trump’s vision for the region.

This was the fifth round of U.S.-mediated talks and the first in two months, following a period of stagnation in negotiations. Last week, President Trump encouraged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to re-engage during a meeting in Florida.

The United States also proposed establishing a joint U.S.-Israeli-Syrian “fusion cell” in Amman, Jordan, which would oversee the security situation in southern Syria and coordinate further negotiations. Representatives from each country would participate, focusing on diplomatic, military, intelligence, and economic issues. According to the U.S. official, the fusion cell “will be the engine of the process” with the U.S. acting as a 24/7 intermediary.

The demilitarised economic zone would reportedly include wind farms, agricultural projects, tourist facilities—including what was described as “the best ski mountain in the Middle East”—and areas inhabited by the Druze community. The official said regional partners had committed funding, though no countries were named.

The Israeli delegation included Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter, Netanyahu’s military secretary Roman Gofman, and Acting National Security Adviser Gil Reich. Syria was represented by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and Intelligence Chief Hussein Salameh.

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