Allegations that Netanyahu asked Trump to mediate

It has been alleged that Israel requested the US to mediate between Israel and the new administration in Syria. Reports in the US press claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the administration of US President Donald Trump to mediate between Israel and the new Syrian leadership.

The reports stated that Netanyahu expressed this request to Tom Barrack, Trump's Syria envoy and Ambassador to Turkey, during his visit to Israel last week, and that Netanyahu told Barrack he wanted to negotiate a new security agreement that would be a step toward a peace treaty with Syria.

The report noted that an unnamed senior Israeli official said, "We want to normalize relations with Syria as soon as possible." Two Israeli officials stated that Israel first established indirect contact with Syria's new government and subsequently began holding secret direct talks in third countries.

The report further stated that Israeli officials told Barrack that their "red lines in Syria are the presence of Iran or Hezbollah and the demilitarization of southern Syria," and that Israel also wants US troops to be included in the UN force that will monitor the ceasefire between the parties.