Coercive diplomacy: What does the call between Netanyahu and al-Sharaa really mean?

The phone call between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa—following months of firing salvos via fighter jets, missiles, and third-party intermediaries, alongside strikes that targeted the courtyard of the Syrian Ministry of Defence and the perimeter of the presidential palace—was no ordinary diplomatic formality. Rather, it was a condensed moment signalling a tectonic shift in the geopolitics and power balance of the Middle East. When Netanyahu and Sharaa speak directly to discuss sectarian tensions in the Druze-majority province of Sweida, we are not merely witnessing a localised security arrangement dictated by geography and overwhelming force. We are standing before a series of uncomfortable questions shaping the region’s future: Is Syria capitulating entirely to the rhythm […]