Syria announced Tuesday that it is cooperating with the United States to establish joint “security understandings” with Israel, which has called for the demilitarization of southern Syria.
The announcement was part of a U.S.- and Jordan-backed roadmap for restoring stability in the south following sectarian violence, which was exploited by Israel to attack the country, and a Syrian military official told AFP that heavy weapons had been withdrawn from the area.
The foreign ministry said that Washington, "in consultation with the Syrian government, will work to reach security understandings with Israel concerning southern Syria that address the legitimate security concerns of both Syria and Israel."
The week of bloodshed in Druze-majority Sweida province erupted on July 13 with clashes between Druze fighters and the Bedouin but rapidly escalated, drawing in government forces and tribal fighters from other parts of Syria.
Israel, which has its own Druze community, used the incident as a pretext to carry out air strikes on government targets, claiming it was acting to defend the minority group.
