Syrian officials visited Israel in April to meet with Israeli defense officials after Tel Aviv opened a direct line of communication with Damascus, Haaretz reported on 8 May, citing Syrian sources.
According to one source speaking with the Hebrew daily, a Syrian delegation, reportedly composed of officials from the Quneitra province and one senior defense official, secretly visited Israel for several days at the end of April.
Syria’s government is led by former Al-Qaeda in Iraq commander Ahmad al-Sharaa. Militants from the former Al-Qaeda affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled the government of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December.
The Israeli military supported HTS, at the time known as the Nusra Front, during the CIA-backed covert war to topple Assad that began in 2011, including by bombing positions of the Syrian army in defense of Nusra fighters.
The April visit of Syrian officials to Israel coincided with the highly publicized visit by Syrian Druze religious leaders to northern Israel to visit Jethro’s Tomb. The Druze identify Jethro with the Prophet Shuayb, the most revered prophet in the Druze faith.
Hellbound and Down 