by Abdullah Hayek

    Sectarian clashes in Southern Syria have shattered expectations of a speedy peace process between Jerusalem and Damascus.

    Just weeks after news reports emerged that Israel and Syria were on the verge of signing a historic peace agreement before the end of 2025, the two neighbors have plunged into a violent confrontation. The crisis in Suwayda, Syria’s predominantly Druze province, has resulted in hundreds of deaths and prompted devastating Israeli airstrikes on Damascus, marking one of the most dramatic reversals in recent Middle Eastern history.

    Throughout June and early July 2025, multiple sources indicated that Syria and Israel were engaged in unprecedented direct negotiations. Israel’s i24 News reported that a Syrian source with knowledge of the talks confirmed that both nations were expected to sign a peace agreement before the end of the year. The proposed deal would have included full normalization of relations between the two countries, with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights potentially transformed into a “peace garden” and Israel gradually withdrawing from Syrian territories seized after December 2024.

    These negotiations represented the most significant dialogue between the longtime enemies in over a decade. President Ahmed al-Shara’s government in Damascus, which had overthrown Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, was actively pursuing rapprochement with Israel through UAE and US-mediated channels. Israeli National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi had reportedly been supervising talks with Syrian officials on shared security interests like countering Iranian influence.

    The diplomatic momentum appeared unstoppable. US President Donald Trump had met with al-Shara in Riyadh in May, reportedly encouraging Damascus to join the Abraham Accords framework. On June 30, Trump subsequently lifted decades-long sanctions on Syria, removing 518 individuals and entities from the US sanctions list as a gesture of goodwill toward the new Syrian government. That same day, Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar expressed cautious optimism about normalization, provided that Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights remains non-negotiable.

    If a binding peace treaty were signed between Syria and Israel under President Trump’s mediation, it would catapult him into the ranks of true Middle East peacemakers, joining Jimmy Carter, who oversaw the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty and Bill Clinton, who oversaw the 1994 Jordan-Israel peace treaty. Their achievements were far more substantive and historic than the 2020 Abraham Accords, which, despite their diplomatic significance, merely normalized relations between countries that had never actually been at war.

    The diplomatic edifice began crumbling on July 11, 2025, when a seemingly minor incident triggered a catastrophic chain of events. A young Druze vegetable merchant from Suwayda was allegedly stopped, beaten, robbed and kidnapped at a Bedouin checkpoint on the Damascus-Suwayda highway. The victim was subjected to sectarian insults and death threats before being released in critical condition.

    This assault sparked immediate retaliation. Druze armed factions detained several Bedouin individuals to recover stolen property, igniting a cycle of retaliatory kidnappings and escalating violence. By July 13, what began as intercommunal tensions had exploded into widespread armed confrontations in Suwayda city and surrounding villages, pitting Druze militias against Sunni Bedouin tribes.

    The violence quickly spiraled beyond local control. Armed clashes erupted in the al-Maqwas neighborhood of Suwayda city, with Bedouin tribesmen launching attacks on Druze villages in the western and northern outskirts. Reports emerged of shelling, property destruction and sectarian atrocities. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it had secured video and audio from the clashes but would not release them, warning they could shatter national unity, inflame sectarian strife and provoke widespread unrest.

    As the death toll mounted, the Syrian government under President al-Shara deployed security forces to Suwayda on July 15, ostensibly to restore order and protect civilians. However, this intervention proved catastrophic for the fragile peace process between Israel and Syria. Eyewitness accounts and monitoring groups reported that government forces, rather than acting as neutral peacekeepers, actively collaborated with Bedouin factions in attacks against Druze fighters and civilians.

    Israel, which has positioned itself as the protector of Druze communities due to its own significant Druze population, responded with immediate military action. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz directed the Israel Defense Forces to target Syrian regime forces and weaponry deployed to Suwayda, citing violations of Israel’s declared demilitarized zone in southern Syria.

    The Israeli strikes began on July 14 and escalated dramatically over subsequent days. By July 16, Israel had conducted over 160 airstrikes, targeting Syrian military installations not only in Suwayda but also striking the heart of Damascus itself. The most dramatic attack hit Syria’s Defense Ministry in central Damascus right by the famous Umayyad Square, with footage showing massive explosions captured live on Syrian television.

    The violence in Suwayda represented far more than a local sectarian conflict; it torpedoed months of careful diplomacy between Israel and Syria. Israeli defense minister Katz’s declaration that “the warnings in Damascus have ended—now painful blows will come” marked a complete abandonment of the peace track that had seemed so promising just weeks earlier.

    The crisis exposed deep structural problems in Syria’s post-Assad transition. Despite al-Shara’s assurances that his government would protect minority rights, his apparent inability to control state forces—and worse, their apparent collaboration in sectarian violence—provided Israel with justification for its military intervention. Local Syrian allegations that government-linked fighters executed nine unarmed civilians in a home during a raid on July 15 further inflamed the situation.

    The rapid deterioration caught international actors off guard. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had been instrumental in facilitating the Israel-Syria dialogue, found himself scrambling to contain the crisis. Rubio desperately worked to broker a ceasefire and characterized the escalation as a “misunderstanding” between Israel and Syria.

    By July 16, Rubio announced that “specific steps” had been agreed upon to end the violence, with all parties expected to honor their commitments. However, this came only after Israel had already delivered devastating strikes on Damascus and Syria had been forced to withdraw its forces from Suwayda under military pressure from Israel.

    On July 17, after the Syrian withdrawal from Suwayda, Druze armed factions killed an unknown number of people, including women and children, from the Sunni Bedouin tribes of Suwayda. These attacks were carried out by militants possibly loyal to Hikmat al-Hijri, a Druze spiritual leader who has received support from Israel. Massive displacement of Bedouins in Suwayda has been ongoing by these armed factions, with hundreds displaced in a matter of two days.

    The Suwayda crisis has exacted a horrific human toll. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that by July 17, 597 people had been killed, including both Druze and Bedouin fighters and civilians, with the UK-based war monitor stating that 83 out of 154 Druze civilians “were summarily executed by members of the defence and interior ministries.” Hundreds more have been wounded and the province’s infrastructure lies in ruins.

    Beyond the immediate casualties, the crisis has inflicted severe damage on Syria’s minority communities’ confidence in the new government. The Druze, who had maintained relative neutrality during Syria’s civil war, now face questions about their place in al-Shara’s Syria. Similar concerns have been raised by other minority groups who had hoped the post-Assad era would bring greater security and representation.

    The crisis demonstrates how quickly sectarian tensions can derail even the most promising diplomatic initiatives. It also highlights the fragility of Syria’s post-Assad transition and the challenges facing any government attempting to maintain control over a fractured, war-torn nation while pursuing international legitimacy.

    As Syrian forces withdraw from Suwayda under a fragile ceasefire agreement and Israel maintains its military posture in the region, the prospects for renewed peace talks appear remote, even after al-Shara’s speech on Thursday vowing to protect the Druze moving forward. The story of how promising negotiations turned to deadly confrontation serves as a sobering reminder of how a volatile Middle East can reverse peace processes with devastating speed.