Trump refused Israel’s request to keep sanctions on Syria – report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly urged the Trump administration to maintain some US sanctions on Syria but were turned down.

By World Israel News Staff

The Trump administration recently refused a request by the Israeli government not to lift all American sanctions on Syria, according to Israeli media reports over the weekend.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump pledged he would lift sanctions on Syria, amid talks with the al-Sharaa government aimed at bringing Damascus into an international anti-ISIS coalition.

The Trump administration has also sought to secure a new security agreement between Syria and Israel, a step the US hopes could ultimately lead to Syria’s joining the Abraham Accords.

Last month, the president hosted his Syrian counterpart at the White House, marking the first time a Syrian head of state has visited Washington.

However, on Saturday night, Israel’s Kan 11 reported that officials close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have contacted the Trump administration, urging the US to leave some sanctions on Syria.

According to the report, which cited two Israeli sources, the Netanyahu government has argued in talks with the Trump White House that some sanctions should be left in place in order to provide greater incentives for Damascus to continue negotiations with Israel.

Trump’s representatives reportedly refused the request.

However, the sources cited in the report claim that the White House offered Israel some form of “compensation,” which was not specified in the report.

The report comes just days after Congress passed a bill repealing the 2019 Caesar Act, which toughened sanctions on Syria.

The bill was passed by the Senate by a margin of 77 to 20 on Thursday, after having been approved by the House of Representatives.

Netanyahu had reportedly sought guarantees from the US prior to Trump signing the bill into law that some of the sanctions would remain in place.