US President Donald Trump’s administration will support the Israeli military’s continued maintenance of a “buffer zone” in Syria for the foreseeable future, The Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday.
While the European Union and the United Nations have made substantial progress toward normalizing relations with Syria’s new regime, led by Ahmad al-Sharaa—culminating in a major summit in Paris on Thursday—”Israel” remains confident that Washington understands its concerns that the new Syrian leadership could be a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” the report indicated.
The Israeli news website revealed that even if the EU and UN increase pressure on “Israel” to withdraw from Syrian territory in the coming months, the Israeli military is likely to remain in the “buffer zone” for an extended period as long as it retains backing from the Trump administration.
It added that with Syrian interim president al-Sharaa refraining from committing to elections for at least four years, “Israel” argues that the true nature of his regime may not become evident even by the end of 2025.
While Trump has signaled a desire to disengage from Syria and withdraw remaining US forces there, The Jerusalem Post cited Israeli officials who believe this does not affect his continued support for “Israel’s” presence in the buffer zone.
Until recently, “Israel” had faced increasing pressure to consider withdrawing from the “buffer zone”, particularly given al-Sharaa’s repeated public assurances that he would uphold the 1974 armistice between Syria and “Israel” and his tangible steps toward reintegration with the West.
However, The Jerusalem Post highlighted that new revelations indicate that the Trump administration’s support for “Israel’s” position in Syria remains unwavering, even two months after the establishment of the “buffer zone” on December 8.
Israeli presence in Jenin, Lebanon
Meanwhile, the Israeli news website cited informed sources as saying that the Israeli occupation military is expected to remain in Jenin for several months beyond the conclusion of the current offensive in the area.
The sources emphasized that the situation in Jenin and the northern West Bank will not revert to its previous state, as Israeli troops will maintain a continued presence even after active military operations wind down—a shift in “Israel’s” security approach to the West Bank.
According to the report, this marks a departure from previous large-scale operations in Jenin in July 2023 and August 2024, after which Israeli forces fully withdrew.
Regarding Lebanon, sources confirmed that the Israeli military will maintain control over five key positions there, even beyond the February 18 deadline for withdrawing from southern Lebanon.
When questioned about the effectiveness of these positions in preventing Hezbollah’s return to the south, sources indicated that the Israeli military would launch immediate strikes in response to any alleged violations along the Lebanese side of the border.
In a telephone interview for Bloomberg, Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who’s one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest confidants, declined to say how long these positions would be maintained but signaled Israeli troops won’t be removed in the short term.
