Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is mulling a peace deal between Syria and Israel, Bloomberg reported on April 23. United States Rep. Cory Mills recently took an unofficial fact-finding trip to Syria meeting with Sharaa in Damascus. The main topic of discussion was removing U.S. economic sanctions on Syria. But according to Bloomberg, Sharaa said, “Syria was interested under the right conditions in joining the Abraham Accords—which saw the United Arab Emirates and other Arab countries normalize ties with Israel during [U.S. President Donald] Trump’s first term.”

Sharaa took power last year when his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (hts) faction ousted longtime dictator Bashar Assad. hts is a Sunni Islamist group recognized as a terrorist organization by many Western governments. hts once affiliated with al Qaeda, but it supposedly cut ties years ago; the genuineness of this is disputed.

Despite Sharaa winning the war against Assad, his hold on Syria is far from secure. Assad loyalists started a low-level insurgency in Syria’s coastal areas; hts countered with a brutal campaign that killed hundreds of civilians from other religions. Kurdish groups still control northwestern Syria and are fighting with other militias. All the while, Syria remains under heavy sanctions. hts itself is sanctioned separately from the Syrian government.

Syria is also still dealing with the effects of over a decade of civil war. The country needs urgent reconstruction but lacks the necessary resources. It needs an injection of foreign funds soon. The only way to get it soon is to get the sanctions removed. The only way to do that is to prove Syria is no longer a terrorist-sponsoring nation. Per the Bloomberg article, Mills’s message to Sharaa included destroying any remaining chemical weapons from Assad’s time and dealing with the large presence of foreign fighters on Syrian soil.

But there may be no better sign than making peace with the Jewish state.

Is This Likely?

Sharaa hinted at normalization in a January interview with the Economist. When asked if Syria could make peace with Israel, Sharaa responded, “We want peace with all parties.” But the Israeli issue is sensitive because of Israel’s control over the Golan Heights.

The Golan Heights is a strip of territory Israel conquered from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. It has been in Israeli control far longer than it has been in Syria’s. The U.S. recognizes it as sovereign Israeli territory, but no other country does, and Sharaa has roots in the Golan Heights. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during his first term in the 1990s, had normalization negotiations with President Hafez Assad, but the talks broke down over control of the Golan Heights.

So far Syria normalizing relations with Israel is just talk. Syria has many more urgent priorities to sort out first. Netanyahu has made it clear he doesn’t trust Sharaa. Months after Assad fell, Israel is still carrying out operations in Syria. Netanyahu has publicly threatened Sharaa not to harm Israel.

But what would happen if Syria went down that path?

After the original Abraham Accords, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote:

We all want peace. But sadly, these recent peace pacts have a deadly flaw.

Biblical prophecy gives us deep insight into these agreements. It actually foretells that moderate Arabs will unite, somewhat like we are now seeing. But they are prophesied not to cooperate with the United States or Israel!

A prophecy in Psalm 83 exposes a hidden reality behind these peace deals. We are already in the beginning stages of its fulfillment.

Prophecy’s Perspective

The prophecy Mr. Flurry referred to describes a coalition of countries banding together “that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance” (Psalm 83:4). The peoples involved: “The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them …” (verses 6-8).

Neither the Bible nor secular history records such an alliance, either in purpose or composition. This is why Mr. Flurry points to this prophecy as relating to our day. But it makes no sense unless one understands who these ancient peoples are today. Mr. Flurry continued:

The key to unlocking this prophecy is to know the modern descendants of these peoples. And God in this end time has supplied this key. Based on biblical and historical research and with God’s inspiration, Herbert W. Armstrong gave a good general idea of which nations these peoples correspond to today, equating the Ishmaelites with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, the Hagarenes with Syria, the Philistines with the Palestinians; Gebal and Tyre with Lebanon, Moab and Ammon with Jordan, and Edom and Amalek with Turkey.

Assur is a prophetic name for Germany. (Request our free booklet Germany and the Holy Roman Empire for more information.)

Psalm 83 prophesies that Syria will ally with Germany and these other “moderate Arab” nations. For decades, Syria instead allied with Iran, another prophetic bloc forming against the Psalm 83 alliance. (See our relevant Trends article for more information.) The Trumpet was expecting Syria to leave Iran’s orbit and enter Germany’s. With the fall of the Assad regime, this is now a fulfilled prophecy.

At the moment, many of these countries appear much friendlier to Israel than Iran’s bloc. Israel may trust them in its war against Iran. But Israel does this to its own peril. The fact that Syria is run by an al Qaeda affiliate should make Israel question its sincerity.

Mr. Flurry continued:

While it seems that these nations are moving away from radicalism and violence, we must look beneath the surface. After all, this prophecy reveals that they will take “crafty counsel”—subtle and shrewd dealing. This sure prophecy shows that these nations will ally to try to blot out the name of Israel forever! That is intense hatred!

To learn more, read Mr. Flurry’s article “Deadly Flaw in Mideast Peace Deals.”