WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Monday he hopes Israel will “get along” with Syria ahead of his meeting at with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I hope he’s going to get along with Syria ... because the new president of Syria is working very hard to do a good job,” Trump said told reporters in front of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he greeted Netanyahu for talks on regional issues, including the ceasefire plan in Gaza.

Trump highlighted his administration’s decision to lift sanctions on Syria, saying the move was intended to give Damascus a chance to stabilize. “We want to see Syria survive,” he said, adding that this would also be on the agenda of his meeting with the Israeli prime minister.

After the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, Israel expanded its occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights by seizing the demilitarized buffer zone, a move that violated a 1974 agreement with Syria.​​​​​​​

Israeli forces have carried out near-daily incursions in southern Syria in recent weeks, particularly in Quneitra province, conducting arrests, setting up checkpoints, and destroying forested areas, actions that have fueled growing local anger toward Israel.

US-led security talks between Damascus and Tel Aviv have so far failed to yield results.

Israel seeks a new security agreement, while Syria demands Israeli withdrawal to pre-Dec. 8, 2024 lines and restoration of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement — which Israeli leaders said is void until “order is restored in Syria.”

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8, 2024, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. Ahmed Al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period in late January.